cool global BIZ

A Sign of the Global Times: T. Boone Pickens, Oil and Energy Billionaire and Clean Tech Leader?

 

NOTE:  This blog post on T. Boone Pickens, billionaire oil investor turned tree-hugger (sort of), ran during the 2009 Global Technology Symposium at Stanford University, where he spoke.  Boone probably is one of the few men alive who could get Al Gore and Dick Cheney to the same salad bar.  "Am I green?" he said. "I could pass the saliva test."  Been waiting for Boone to invite me bird-hunting with his billionaire buddies.  Never been, tho' once I plugged an old gator in Florida sure to die from disease or a fight with a younger gator.  Call me, homie.

 

The annual tech symposium comes to Stanford on March 24-26, 2010.  This year's gathering features former Intel chairman and CEO Craig Barrett, former Reagan Administration counselor Clyde Prestowitz, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, Google executive Marissa Mayer, and other business luminaries.  The event is run by Alexandra Johnson, managing director of the DFJ-VTB Aurora venture fund, which invests in early-stage companies in Russia.

 

STANFORD, CALIFORNIA -- The times they are a changin', sang a famous folk troubadour from the 1960s.  Ain't that the truth.  A few years ago, it would have been hard to imagine legendary Texas oil investor T. Boone Pickens getting chummy with Al Gore and other hardcore environmentalists.  But borders are tumbling, and creative destruction and disruption are hallmarks of the new global economy. Last summer, Pickens launched a highly-publicized crusade called The Pickens Plan to end America's addiction to foreign oil.  Is he a capitalist crusader a la Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, or a modern-day Don Quixote tilting at solar windmills?  I'm betting on him to help save the world, or at least push politicians and the energy sector in the right direction.

 

PICKENS REMINDS US that the U.S. is the biggest energy hog by far, spending $475 billion in 2008 on foreign oil and using 25% of the 85 million barrels of oil produced each day. (See video below, from www.pickensplan.com/media/)   But he says we can realistically change our environmental fate by boosting our production of natural gas and using the cleaner fuel in trucks, 18-wheelers and other big business fleets. That'll buy us time -- at least 25 years -- before the glaciers melt like ice cubes at the beach.  By then, solar, wind, clean-tech energy sources will have grown to a larger scale to make a real difference.  Companies are gradually buying in; AT&T just announced that it plans to run 8,000 of its fleet vehicles on natural gas within five years.

 

LIKE PRESIDENT OBAMA, Pickens is aiming for a younger, Internet-savvy demographic.  In the tradition of civil rights marches on Washington, Pickens is promoting an online "virtual march" on Washington April 1-3 (2009) with his "New Energy Army,"  some 2 million people who've signed up to send emails to Congress and to promote the Pickens Plan through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social- and professional-networking sites.  Is Pickens spot on or what?  An avid birdhunter, Pickens and his advisors know how to lead his target -- in this case, reaching green generations under 40 that will shape politics and business over the next several decades. He's also spreading his message the old-fashioned dead-tree way, promoting his new book, The First Billion is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future.

 

ON A TRIP to California with his wife, Madeleine Pickens, Boone Pickens spoke today at Stanford University at the Global Technology Symposium, a yearly gathering of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists sponsored by the San Francisco Global Trade Council, the U.S.Polish Trade Council, the Plug and Play Tech Center, the Stanford School of Engineering and the Draper Fisher Jurvetson VTB Aurora  venture fund run by Alexandra Johnson.

Highlights from his talk:

On his new clean energy reputation:  "Am I green?  I could pass the saliva test."

On trying to persuade Sen. John McCain to support natural gas, not oil:  "He said, 'You're trying to get me to pick a winner.' I said, 'You don't understand, this isn't a multiple choice question.  This is the only thing we have.  A battery won't move an 18-wheeler.  Natural gas is the only thing that makes an 18-wheeler go that's abundant in this country."

On energy leadership:  "One thing that's been missing for 40 years is leadership.  If this administration, this leadership, can put the American people together not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans . . . it can be accomplished. In New Delhi, they were choking to death on diesel fuel, so they mandated no diesel . . . Eighteen months later, they switched over to natural gas, and now people are not dying on the streets from diesel fuel . . . It's a war without guns, and we have to move as fast as we can." (See Cool Global Biz video clip below from Stanford conference.)

 

On drilling:  "I'm for anything that's American.  (We should drill on) the East Coast, West coast, Gulf of Mexico . . . Throw it all in.  It won't fix it, but it'll help. There isn't a silver bullet.  Put it all together and we can solve the problem. Nuclear (energy), sure, I'm all for it."

On risk-taking and entrepreneurship:  "I've drilled more dry holes than anybody you want to know.  I've also found a lot of oil.  In the oil business, I'd probably be in the Top 10.  But what did it cost you?  That's the big balancer in my industry . . . Entrepreneurs will all go down that trail at some point . . . You have to be smart enough (to know) it's time to walk off.  At some point, you run out of rig, you run out of pipe, you run out of money, so you're going to plug it and leave it with tears in your eyes."

On leaving a clean energy legacy before the planet dies:  "It's not about this guy (himself).  I can make it to the finish line, but I'm not so sure about our grandchildren.  For generations to come, this has got to be fixed."

Green Global Partners: Big Biz & the Environmental Defense Fund

 

 

Vote Earth! by Shepard Fairey, under Creative Commons license on flickr.com

 

Long before global warming became a buzz phrase, the Environmental Defense Fund and U.S. global companies had joined forces at the vanguard of global green business practices.  The EDF first won praise in the 1960s by fighting to ban DDT, the birdshell-cracking pesticide uncovered in Rachel Carson's famed book, Silent Spring.  The EDF still is a legal crusader on green issues.  But in recent years, the EDF and its scientists and economists have teamed with Big Business to make the world's climate a little cleaner by slashing carbon emissions and reducing packaging waste, among other environmental practices.

 

Through corporate partnerships and an Innovation Exchange program, the EDF and U.S. and global companies showcase some of the best green practices in the business realm.  Among EDF's partners:  Walmart, DuPont, Wegmans, FedEx, UPS, PHH Arval, Starbucks, McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson, Citigroup, IBM, Sun Microsystems and other corporate giants.  Not your usual tree-hugging do-gooders, eh?  (See "Case Studies" and "Cutting-Edge Environmental Programs.")

 

At the center of the green business movement is Gwen Ruta, EDF's vice president of corporate partnerships.  Ruta has seen steady progress by companies over the past two decades.  She predicts that more businesses will continue to measure their impact on the environment, while adopting cleaner manufacturing and distribution standards and practices.  And where Fortune 500 companies go, much of the world will follow. In a recent interview with CoolGlobalBiz, Ruta talked about:

 

Companies forging ahead on green strategies, despite the global recession:  "I definitely think that over the last three years, the momentum has been upward.  It's been slightly dampened by the recession but not snuffed, which I take as a sign that we've really penetrated at every level.  The recession would have been the perfect opportunity for many, many companies to say, 'Oh well, back to the basics, we can't afford this environmental stuff now.'  But I didn't see that happening at all.  In fact, we may be seeing the opposite.  People see that every penny counts.  Companies are thinking about energy efficiency and waste . . . (and about) the message that the environment and business can be synergistic."

 

Corporations going beyond lip service and window-dressing on green issues:  "Our partners historically have been the Fortune 500, the biggest companies in America.  We can get the best environmental results working with them, and they really are the standard-setters in their industries.  If we work with McDonald's, Burger King will pay attention. If we work with Walmart, Target will pay attention.  They raise the bar, and the level of buy-in is high.  As for the next 50,000 companies, pick a number.  (Green issues) are not necessarily on the radar screen.  It's still a little bit of terra incognita for a lot of companies."

 

Charting the real progress of companies on their environmentally-friendly practices:  "The best place to look is the annual State of Green Business report by Joel Makower at GreenBiz.com.  They track what's happening over time."

 

Private-equity firms going green: "One of our current partners is Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and one reason we're working with KKR is that it gives us the opportunity to change practices across a whole portfolio of companies.  Working with three of KKR's companies (US Foodservice, PRIMEDIA and Sealy Corporation), the partnership has already saved $16 million and prevented more than 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2008.  That translates to over $100 million in added portfolio value -- enough to get the attention of private-equity firms.  The value of companies in private-equity holdings make up 10% of the GDP in America.  That's a pretty good-sized slice of the economy."

The Environmental Defense Fund and corporate partner FedEx.  Photo courtesy of the EDF.

 

Hail, Wal-Mart: To Get Green is Glorious

 

Wal-Mart, the king of global retailers and a huge moving target with U.S. $406 billion in annual revenue, has been bruised and bloodied by many critics over the years.  But today, the legendary Arkansas company and its 2 million global employees deserve praise even from harsh skeptics.  As our planet plunges into a new era of globalization, environmentalism and demographic change, Wal-Mart and other mega-companies are stepping up as leaders in corporate social responsibility.

(Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke.  Photo courtesy of Wal-Mart.)

 

In a Webcast on Thursday, Wal-Mart launched a worldwide program that will rate products on their "sustainability" -- environmental and corporate-speak for whether goods are made and sold with minimal damage to the environment.  Walmart will:  (1) survey its 100,000 suppliers on their green practices, (2) create a "Sustainability Index" with universities, suppliers, retailers, governments and non-profit groups, and (3) develop a green ratings system for products to help consumers decide what to buy.   Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke said in a news release:  "Customers want products that are more efficient, that last longer and perform better.  They want to know that the materials in the product are safe, that it was made well and that it was produced in a responsible way.  We do not see this as a trend that will fade."

(A Wal-Mart Supercenter in Nanning, China, near the Vietnam border.  Photo by Edward Iwata.)

 

The movement toward corporate social responsibility, known as CSR, has been growing steadily.  Decades ago, futurists and management and workplace experts urged Big Business to embrace more altruistic forms of capitalism.  In the 1990s, human-rights and labor activists such as the Fair Labor Association pressured shoe and apparel companies and Kathie Lee Gifford to improve their suppliers' sweatshop conditions.  Business groups and non-profits -- including Business for Social Responsibility, CERES (Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies), the Environmental Defense Fund and others -- have worked closely with the business world to improve CSR and green strategies.

(Miley Cyrus/Disney's Hannah Montana at Wal-Mart shareholders' meeting, 2009.  Photo courtesy of Wal-Mart.)

 

One obstacle?  How to monitor and measure CSR practices, to make sure they're done well.  It ain't easy, with so many global business partners -- some good and ethical, some bad and horrible -- on all continents.  (See my USA Today stories, "How Barbie is Making Business A Little Better" and "Businesses Grow More Socially Conscious.")  Nor is it easy to chart profitability and investment returns.  Socially-responsible outfits such as Calvert Investments and the Social Investment Forum (and some big Wall Street investment banks more recently), have long analyzed stocks and companies that use CSR practices.  But most companies and shareholders dismissed CSR and green issues as politically-correct hogwash that had nothing to do with business.  Not now.

(A Wal-Mart distribution center.  Photo courtesy of Wal-Mart.)

 

A Big Green Wal-Mart will help a lot.  The retailer is perhaps the largest, best-known and most influential global consumer brand to openly embrace green and other CSR strategies.  And its green index will carry clout with suppliers who want to ride herd with Wal-Mart.  It's no exaggeration to say that Wal-Mart's example can potentially change much of the global retail realm for the greater good, as rivals rush to keep up.  But Wal-Mart's big media show is only the first step.  Expectations will stay high, and Wal-Mart's environmental and community partners -- plus those tough and ornery critics -- will be closely watching the company's performance.  For now, though, this is good news for global commerce and the greening of the planet.  Way to go, Wal-Mart.  Take a bow.

(National Anthem at Wal-Mart shareholders' meeting, 2009.  Photo courtesy of Wal-Mart.)

 

Blog posts and news stories:

• Joel Makower, GreenBiz.com:  "Walmart's Sustainability Index: The Hype and the Reality."

• Gartner analyst Mark Raskino:  "Wal-Mart Fires the Real Green IT Starting Pistol."

• 24/7 WallSt.com:  "Wal-Mart Gets Greener by the Day."

• The Greenwash Brigade:  "Is Wal-Mart Making My Eco-Dream Come True?"

• Rosabeth Moss Kanter, management expert and professor at Harvard Business School:  "Wal-Mart's Environmental Game-Changer"

• Wall Street Journal:  "Wal-Mart to Assign New Green Ratings"

• New York Times:  "At Wal-Mart, Labelling to Reflect Green Intent."

 

Cool books on CSR:

• Setting Global Standards:  Guidelines for Creating Codes of Conduct in Multinational Corporations, by S. Prakash Sethi, CEO of International Center for Corporate Accountability.

• Strategies for the Green Economy:  Opportunities and Challenges in the New World of Business, by Joel Makower of GreenBiz.com.

• The High-Purpose Company: The Truly Responsible Firms That Are Changing Business Now, by corporate strategist Christine Arena.

• What Matters Most: How a Small Group of Pioneers is Teaching Social Responsibility to Big Business, by Seventh Generation CEO Jeffrey Hollender and Stephen Fenichell.

• The Market for Virtue:  The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility, by David Vogel, professor at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.