2009-11-09

Being Ethical and Sustainable

By pointing to the costs that short-termism entails, Hertz answers.

She offers the auto industry as an example: In the late '60s, she says, when the Clean Air Act was being deliberated in the United States, American carmakers spent millions lobbying against it, while Honda decided to develop more energy-efficient cars.

"Honda's cost was on innovation and thinking about how the future might be, and making a product that might fit the future better," says Hertz. "The other companies were spending their money on stopping the future from happening. In that case, Honda won."

Likewise in Holland, where, Hertz says, after the financial crash, "there was a huge flight of money from all the normal banks" into Triodos and Rabobank, both known for being ethical and sustainable.

Those who resist, she says, will be left behind.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/140/cassandras-revenge.html?page=0,4