Konrad Yakabuski of Toronto’s Globe and Mail has an interesting column today about a group called the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and their call to make Canada an environmental superpower.

Exposing their statement for what it is — green PR — Yakabuski wonders whether we should really be relying on corporate CEOs to voluntarily take action when the true objective of any company is its bottom line. And as we know, when companies unite and issue a call to action, what they’re really asking for is something watered down and unregulated. In this sense, they’re acting purely out of self-interest, not out of some desire to save humanity from itself.

Yakabuski argues that we too eagerly buy into what the corporations are saying. The reason, he points out, is that we’ve lost our sense of citizenry. “We act only as consumers and investors,” he writes. “We want the cheapest price and the highest return on our portfolio. If a carbon tax or emissions targets threaten either, we want none of it.”

This, he says, is a recipe for inaction. “Sure we profess to love our planet. But we’re kidding ourselves if we think the CEOs are going to save it. It’s not their job.”

I couldn’t agree more with his analysis. You won’t find a company today that says “I don’t support the environment” or “We need more greenhouse gases.” We should assume that all corporations want to be perceived as green, and in this regard, should judge them on the impact of their actions and not the messaging in PR campaigns that blur the distinction between corporate self-interest and the pursuit of a common good.

Konrad Yakabuski of Toronto’s Globe and Mail has an interesting column today about a group called the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and their call to make Canada an environmental superpower.

Exposing their statement for what it is — green PR — Yakabuski wonders whether we should really be relying on corporate CEOs to voluntarily take action when the true objective of any company is its bottom line. And as we know, when companies unite and issue a call to action, what they’re really asking for is something watered down and unregulated. In this sense, they’re acting purely out of self-interest, not out of some desire to save humanity from itself.

Yakabuski argues that we too eagerly buy into what the corporations are saying. The reason, he points out, is that we’ve lost our sense of citizenry. “We act only as consumers and investors,” he writes. “We want the cheapest price and the highest return on our portfolio. If a carbon tax or emissions targets threaten either, we want none of it.”

This, he says, is a recipe for inaction. “Sure we profess to love our planet. But we’re kidding ourselves if we think the CEOs are going to save it. It’s not their job.”

I couldn’t agree more with his analysis. You won’t find a company today that says “I don’t support the environment” or “We need more greenhouse gases.” We should assume that all corporations want to be perceived as green, and in this regard, should judge them on the impact of their actions and not the messaging in PR campaigns that blur the distinction between corporate self-interest and the pursuit of a common good.

My Clean Break column this week is a deeper profile of Dr. David Mills, founder and chairman of Palo Alto, Calif.-based solar thermal company Ausra Inc.

There’s been much written lately about Ausra and its Kleiner/Khosla connection, but this piece looks at the man behind the company and provides a little background on Ausra’s move from Australia to Silicon Valley. It’s ironic that a Canadian (an Etobicoke boy, to be precise), coming from a geography where the economics of solar thermal power don’t work well, ends up developing a technology and founding a company that has attracted so much attention and financing in the United States. Mind you, Mills spent 30 years of his life in Australia before heading to Silicon Valley, so while his family and roots are in Canada, his experience and influences come from Down Under.

Anyway, if you want to learn more about Ausra and what it’s up to, have read.

My Clean Break column this week is a deeper profile of Dr. David Mills, founder and chairman of Palo Alto, Calif.-based solar thermal company Ausra Inc.

There’s been much written lately about Ausra and its Kleiner/Khosla connection, but this piece looks at the man behind the company and provides a little background on Ausra’s move from Australia to Silicon Valley. It’s ironic that a Canadian (an Etobicoke boy, to be precise), coming from a geography where the economics of solar thermal power don’t work well, ends up developing a technology and founding a company that has attracted so much attention and financing in the United States. Mind you, Mills spent 30 years of his life in Australia before heading to Silicon Valley, so while his family and roots are in Canada, his experience and influences come from Down Under.

Anyway, if you want to learn more about Ausra and what it’s up to, have read.