Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

WHERE I STAND Brian Greenspun explains how businesses can earn more green by going green

We need to be a country full of conservatives.

Before half of you go nuts and the other half faint, let me explain. This is not a political discussion, it is far more important. This is a call to save the planet and, by doing so, save ourselves.

At its core is the notion that conserving the benefits and beauty of Mother Earth for ourselves and our children's children and beyond is as much a biblical calling as it is a life-sustaining imperative. I think I just covered the full gamut of peoples' self-interest.

A couple of years ago the Nevada Development Authority - not an organization ever accused of being overly concerned with much more than economic diversification in Southern Nevada - invited former President Bill Clinton to speak. I remember the event because it was jammed full of people who had come to hear what President Clinton had to say. At the beginning, I got the impression some in the room were more excited to be listening to our former leader than were others.

At the end, though, everyone rose for a standing, rousing ovation. The reason was clear. It was his message. He challenged everyone in that room to make Southern Nevada the renewable energy capital of the world. With our abundant sunshine and wind corridors, there is no question, he argued, that we could lead the world in solar and wind technology and application, creating thousands of high-tech jobs and billions of dollars of economic benefit.

The room agreed. Then we went back to our jobs, elected a governor and a Legislature that were determined to lead us backward into the energy dependence of the last century instead of forward at the front of a vanguard of energy initiatives that would change the world. That's all we did.

Fast forward to this past week when another speaker of some note showed up in Las Vegas to talk about what he is doing to become a more responsible steward of this planet. The differences between his ideas and President Clinton's were unimportant. What was important was who was delivering the message.

In front of a crowd of mostly young people - for those are the folks who must heed the message and act upon it - Peter Seligmann, the chief executive of Conservation International, carried on a conversation with one of the least likely people you would consider as a proponent of the Conservation International mission.

And, yet, upon reflection, Rob Walton, the chairman of Wal-Mart, is exactly the person who should embrace the message of conservation and make it the priority for his company that it has become. He is not only a person who understands and appreciates the glory of nature and its importance to sustaining the human species , but he is also one of the keenest business minds , who understood in a second the old adage about doing well by doing good.

That event at Jenna and Michael Morton's environmentally sensitive home was designed to share with business and socially conscious leaders that "going green" was not only the right thing to do, but the thing to do for improving the bottom line. It was a similar message to that of President Clinton a couple of years earlier, but it had the added import of being delivered by one of the world's greatest symbols of capitalism.

Mr. Walton was very clear that he wanted to do his part - actually far more than his part - to protect this planet while, at the same time, adding value for his shareholders. For a company that has 60,000 suppliers , that is a huge undertaking.

But, just imagine, a company like Wal-Mart committed so much to the idea of conservation that it tells, advises, suggests, requires or encourages each of those 60,000 companies around the world to find a better, greener way of producing the goods that Wal-Mart sells to a billion or more people on the planet. And to do it at the same price!

T hat it is succeeding should tell every other company that it can be done. We know it should be done. In fact, Conservation International makes a compelling case that it must be done.

For if we don't, the estimate is that 50 percent of all living species on Earth will be gone by the end of this century. Assuming that man is not one of those extinct species, how different do you think life will be for our grandchildren when all of the ocean's predator fish are gone, most of the world's forests are gone and much of the world's beaches are gone from their current location, having moved a few miles inland ? Get the picture?

It is a cinch that the political leadership in this country has abdicated its responsibility to lead this country toward a pursuit of happiness - another conservative notion coming right from the Constitution that has been abandoned - so it falls to the people, their business and their social institutions to carry the ball. Eventually, the politicians will find cover enough to climb aboard. But we cannot wait for them.

If a fellow like Rob Walton, who doesn't get behind but, rather, races right out in front of Conservation International's march toward a greener, saner planet, what excuse do the rest of us have for not getting on the train?

I, frankly, don't see one.

What I see is a message that "going green gets you green." That's a pretty simple message and one that will make conservatives of us all. And that is a liberal message with which we all can live.

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