Greenvolution

One of the most common questions I've heard since the launch of GreenForGood.com is, "Where did you the idea to start the company?" The short answer is that I literally got the idea while on a cross-country flight after visiting my in-laws in Florida last December. While reading an inspiring article about Clif Bar and the company's decision to go all-organic with its products, I wondered if there was a website for people who are interested in high-quality organic and eco-friendly products. Some quick research revealed that while there were indeed some sites that sold a variety of products, there didn't seem to one central "superstore" where you could find all things organic. And there is no doubt that demand for these kinds of products is growing.

Having lived in Northern California, Oregon and Washington throughout my life, I've been exposed to and surrounded by progressive ideas that have led to the ongoing acceptance and awareness of the need to develop a more sustainable society. The evolution has been steady and ongoing in my case - as I think it is for many. But as I've gotten older and wiser (I think), I've become much more committed to not only living in a more sustainable manner, but to try to find ways to make an impact in this area. Fortunately, I have a great group of business partners who make up GreenForGood.com who also share this belief.

It's one thing for a small group of West Coast entrepreneurs to believe in the power of sustainability, quite another for a multi-billion dollar corporation to publicly announce ambitious energy-conscious and environmentally conscious goals, as Wal-Mart did on October 25th. Say what you will about many of its other corporate practices (such as worker pay and health care) but in this case, Wal-Mart got it right. In case you missed it, the company announced "a set of sweeping, specific environmental goals to reduce energy use in its stores, double its trucks' fuel efficiency, minimize its use of packaging and pressure thousands of companies in its worldwide supply chain to follow its lead," (as reported in the New York Times). Some may call this Greenwashing.

But I think it's a sign that even the largest retailer in the world understands the importance of sustainability. Realizing that you have to take all statements pulled from a corporate website with at grain of salt, I still believe that CEO Lee Scott’s comments that “we started seeing it (environmental commitments) as something we could be proactive about, a business strategy” is telling. And it is indicative of the light bulbs (excuse the pun) popping on over executives’ heads around the country that making decisions based on sustainability is not only the right thing to do, it’s also simply good business.