Profitable Green Business: Myth or Reality?

Business Week interviewed Auden Schendler, corporate sustainability advocate for Aspen Skiing Co. and a former researcher at the Rocky Mountain Institute. During Schendler's time at the upscale ski resort in Aspen, Colorado, he convinced the resort to install rooftop solar panels for employee housing, set up a power plant that runs off a mountain creek and swayed the company into purchasing renewable energy credits to offset its emissions from electricity.

Still, Schendler is quoted as saying it's almost impossible to really green a company. This is true. No company that uses enormous amounts of water to make snow, electricity to run chair lifts, to operate vehicles and power hotels and restaurants will ever be truly green. And no amount of renewable energy credits will ever make up for that waste of energy.

But he did open the ski industry to a direction it hadn't considered before. Even if the hotel refused to use compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescents because the manager thought it would clash with the ambience for the fur-clad crowd, Schendler and others like him who try to sway corporations to be a bit greener are still valuable assets to the business world. Schendler experienced one of the biggest challenges in trying to go green – the return on investment just takes time. Solar panels and more expensive light bulbs, high-quality sustainable products and hybrid vehicles all cost more upfront, but the reward is there in the end. The key to getting people to buy into this idea is education.

We just have to accept that very few, if any, companies will ever be able to achieve true sustainability. Taking small steps is part of the education and adoption process that must continue. If we are ever to decrease our global carbon footprint, more people must learn that saving the environment is important and that businesses have the potential to make adjustments and really decrease emissions and pollution. Marketing reaches consumers, but it must be honest. If we can see through the "greenwashing" tactics and actually market what's truly green and energy-efficient, then perhaps green businesses can make money and profit, even if it takes a while.