Green, Inc.: Environment, Economy, & Profit

One thing was made certain at last night's Green business panel hosted by the entrepreneur organization The Glass House is that corporations rule. Or at least that was the exasperated conclusion made by Natural Resources Defense Council Senior Scientist, Allen Hershkowitz. If there's going to be any major change in the eco-system, it's going to come from the top. And that's part of Hershkowitz's job, to help major corporations go green.

He's worked with Major League Baseball to increase their recycling at games as well as help the commissioner of baseball promote a ban on toxic chemicals on little league fields across the country. And he's even cut energy costs for the Oscars. But getting people to change, especially when the bottom line is at stake, is always a painfully slow process. Twenty years ago he fiercely negotiated with Big Oil to stop using a chemical that was dangerous to the environment. The companies finally relented, only after it was agreed that they had 20 years before complying. Now, after two decades, it's finally out.

But Green business isn't only about these slow first steps. There are some major innovations taking place. Hershkowitz predicts that plastic made by petroleum will soon be a thing of the past. And what will we use instead? Hay and flax. "Ag-plastics will be giant!" says Hershkowitz. "Remember that line from The Graduate? It should have been 'ag-plastics.'"

So before the ag-plastic bubble takes off, what can people do in the meantime? Lots. Check out the tips and lifestyle products on Treehugger.com. As hippies as it sounds, the site, founded by web entrepreneur Graham Hill, aims to cater to society's vain sensibilities, working with human nature and not against it in order to drive sustainability mainstream. The website provides information of a typical magazine, covering everything from business to travel, architecture and design to beauty and fashion--all through a green tint.

--Andrea Chalupa