Corporate social responsibility is experiencing a renaissance. Much as in the scientific community, the debate on climate change among businesspeople has moved on from whether it is an issue to when it will be and how far it may affect them.
That often makes sense. Insurance companies need to adjust premia to reflect the uptick in the frequency of natural disasters. Other financial service providers, from HSBC to Goldman Sachs, see "carbon neutrality" as a fairly cheap way to lure potential employees and customers. For manufacturers, such as DuPont, efforts to cut back on emissions have proved surprisingly rewarding, even before the spike in energy prices. Meanwhile, General Electric hopes clean technologies will help underpin future growth.
Financial Times, Aug 07, 2006
