Studying GE's Ecomagination

It's been a long day at work, since Harvard Business School is running its second annual Executive Education program in Corporate Social Responsibility. We premiered a video interview of Jeffrey Immelt (CEO of General Electric) in which he talks about the Ecomagination campaign.

Basically, Ecomagination is both a marketing campaign and a growth strategy. Back in 2004 the company identified a half-dozen businesses that could support rapid growth, and noticed a theme among them - many were addressing environmental challenges such as scarce water, energy shortages, and climate change. So, to make a long story short, Immelt decided to tie them all together into the Ecomagination campaign.

Some might object (and some did) to a CEO who is embracing environmentalism on the basis of business opportunity. They could point out (and they did) that when and if the wind changes, GE would be unlikely to stand by its "green" commitment. So Immelt didn't win many points for personal dedication.

But I see Ecomagination as a great example of how CSR is supposed to work - pressure from employees, customers and regulators is exerting itself up into the company, incentivizing GE to adopt behaviors that are more socially- and environmentally- oriented.

And so, if the wind does change, and environmental solutions are no longer a profit opportunity for GE, then who's fault is that? Is it the company's fault for not wanting to lose money? Or is it our own faults, for being so fickle as to not continue to ask for better?