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General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) are two well-known companies at the forefront of "being green." In GE's case, the company manufactures a wide range of eco-friendly products, from wind turbines to light bulbs that use less wattage per bulb. And Wal-Mart is trying to make its stores, trucking fleet and even retail products green-friendly while helping its customers do the same.
GE CEO Jeff Immelt said recently that he "works for investors." This was in response to questions about the U.S. government being increasingly involved in regulating greenhouse gases produced by corporate America. Said Immelt, "Look, I've never voted for a Democrat!" At the same time, GE takes government subsidies for making its eco-friendly wind turbine products, a fact brought out by a question Immelt took at the first-ever ECO:nomics conference in Santa Barbara, California.
Some at the conference seemed to be interested in keeping energy prices high (and higher) to spur more green tech and innovation -- despite the fact that Americans hate $4 gas. Well-known capitalist greenie John Doerr said, "This is the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century." He's right, but my guess is very few companies share that vision at this point in time. Many are just trying to figure out how to survive the big "R" that's constantly touted in the press.
When it comes to the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart will be meeting with 1,000 of its Chinese vendors this year to lay out its eco-strategy to them, with this mandate coming down the line: implement our green suggestions or don't do business with us. Why would Wal-Mart want to care about the air and water quality in China? Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott was even surprised when a bottle of Evian water was waiting for his at the podium when his turn came. Perhaps GE and Wal-Mart are super-serious about being green and the time for lip service has passed. What do you think?
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