This week’s UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen has seen its fair share of press, but what is most compelling about this event is what’s happening on the ground.  In my fourteen years working on Carbonetworks, I have never seen this level of activity in climate change and business – both positive and negative. But it’s the perspective that counts and reveals what is really going on with the business of climate change.

It first hits you at the airport, just steps from your plane. All manner of advertising assails you from every angle, from billboards to announcements to people stopping you in your path to give you their pitch. There was even a guy in green chicken suit. Some of it is great, from respected organizations doing their best to combat climate change. Some of it is awful, with blatant greenwashing from companies that have little, if anything, to do with climate change or its solutions. It was enough to make me a bit angry that this level of greenwashing, and I wasn’t the only one.

A tangible shift has occurred around the public’s approach to climate change and it’s business and politics here at COP15. Tens of thousands of protesters have descended on Copenhagen – some peaceful, some certainly not. But the one thing that binds them with many of the businesspeople and policymakers here is that they are angry. This anger is often focused at business because it is the most visible and accessible component of the climate change talks. At times I almost felt betrayed by many of the activists’ denouncement of business, as I consider myself to have a long-standing and successful commitment to climate change, helping hundreds of businesses around the world do so as well. But people definitely do not feel that enough is being done to help save the environment, and the copious and sometimes offensive green marketing throughout the city has only exacerbated the issue.

But we get to see a lot that most people don’t see. I consider myself very lucky to be involved in COP15 not only because it’s an historic event, but also because my company has been fortunate enough to be included at the center of the process. This gives us a view that most people don’t have the chance to see, and it is this view that I believe shows the true nature of climate change in business behind the marketing, protests, and politics. This week we have spent time with a number of leaders from US and Danish Governments and CEOs of some of the world’s largest companies. In our sessions one thing became very clear: the US government is committed to climate change, and big business is already doing an incredible amount of work in this area and generating tangible results for their business.

The first thing you notice is how well-versed leaders in the Obama administration are about climate change and its financial impacts on the US.  Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke demonstrated an incredible depth of knowledge on the subject in our roundtable sessions and focused on how business can help. I’ve found the same depth of knowledge and commitment to climate change issues in similar sessions with other US leaders such as US Interior Secretary Salazar, White House CTO Aneesh Chopra and others. Secretary Steven Chu put it best at the closing of the Bright Green event when he said “the days of America dragging its heels on climate change is over”. If solving complex issues like climate change is about getting the smartest, most committed people in the room, the Obama Administration is certainly making headway.

Even the US Ambassador to Denmark was onboard. After only a short time on the job, she held a reception at her house with some of the top US companies involved in the Copenhagen event. I learned from these business leaders what their companies have done in carbon reductions, energy savings, and other environmental initiatives and the results may surprise you. I spoke with one large multinational whose carbon and energy efficiency programs have saved the company 20% of their annual operating expense for their shipping business, and expect even more next year. They don’t advertise it; to them it’s just smart business. A Big 4 software firm outlined their plans for a global carbon reporting initiative that will help thousands of companies.  Again, they don’t market it, it’s a way to help these companies and grow their business. A cement giant at the event also walked through how energy and carbon reductions have been part of their business for decades. And without an ounce of marketing.

What’s important here is that perception is driving a lot of the debate around the business of climate change because we make judgments on what we can see and touch. Unfortunately to date, much of this has only been through marketing, media, and sound bites. But when you peel back the onion to see what is really going on, you learn that there is a vibrant and critical movement in the business of climate change whose momentum cannot be stopped – the only question is who will harness it.

This is why COP15 is so important, as it will take these leaders to figure out who will benefit from the biggest revolution to hit business in decades, and which economies will make it happen. We want the smartest guys in the room, and we want them committed. After a week in Copenhagen I can say that this is exactly what the US is doing.

So peel back the onion on the business of climate change and ignore the hype. Look at the companies you buy from, the ones you work for, or the ones that work for you, and see what they are doing to reduce their impact. You’ll likely find that they are doing more than you know. Look at your government leaders and gauge their commitment on climate change, and their approach to growing your business. This can only help our economies on a state, local, and federal level. Global policy and regulations take time, and what’s important is that we stay focused, committed, and engaged in the business of climate change to prosper.

Original article

Positioned as a cross between a mini World Economic Forum and TED talks show, Climate Spark offers a unique place and platform for UN delegates and business people to meet and network each evening during COP15. Exclusive after parties are planned each night, with celebrities and dignitaries. This exclusive business forum is sponsored by Clean World Capital, a clean energy and technology merchant bank specialised in financing cleantech and renewable energy projects. Climate Spark is supported by Climate Consortium, Climate Exchange, World Climate Solutions, British Chamber of Commerce, Danish Industry, Reuters, Cleantech Magazine, and Bright Green.

Call it Hopenhagen if you like, but make no mistake – President Obama’s decision to attend and speak at the United Nations climate conference has significant implications for governments and corporations around the world.

The White House has said the President will speak toward the end of the conference in order to push negotiations over the top, but it is the content of his speech that will determine whether or not he is successful.

The world is looking to the US for guidance, and as the leader of the global economy, a formal US position on climate change carries significant weight with the global community.  President Obama’s delivery of the US position on climate change will likely determine whether the US will play a leadership role in climate change, or surrenders that position to China or European Union.

What’s at stake?  Primarily, America’s ability to capitalize on the economic opportunity of climate change.  To say that nothing will come of Copenhagen is short-sighted. COP15 will undoubtedly have significant impact; however the nature of that impact and how it will affect the US is not yet clear.

The US is known for capitalizing on markets to attract business and innovation, and COP15 represents another moment where it must seize the opportunity  – this time with climate change.  But COP15 also represents a significant risk to US economic growth if it does not act because, for the first time, there are serious contenders abroad.

Progress in Copenhagen could spur breakthroughs in fuel cell, biofuel and solar technologies, allow the manipulation of catalysts at the nano scale, and lead to the invention of a number of other technologies yet to be discovered. Unlike Kyoto however, failure by the US to establish a clear leadership position may not stall the international process as it did before; rather it may open up new opportunities for other countries to take the lead.

In recent months, fast growing nations such as China have signaled commitment to progress on reducing emissions and developing carbon markets, and it is exactly this opportunity they have in mind.

In the 1990s, China was exempted from reductions imposed under Kyoto because the UN considered the country a developing nation, facing economic challenges so serious it could not possibly meet imposed targets. Today, China is transforming its procurement and use of energy and the policies that govern it.  They are investing in wind turbines, nuclear, solar and a host of technologies that reduce their reliance on oil and coal, and diversify their long-term energy strategy in the process. By 2011, China plans to reduce emissions at the level of nearly twice Germany’s annual emissions output.  Impressive environmental goals, but it is clear that economics are driving these decisions.

Of course cleaning up emissions is the right thing to do for our environment and our economy.  I got the idea for my own company while studying environmental management in my undergraduate program in the mid-1990s. I firmly believe we must be responsible stewards of the earth and providing business with the proper incentives is the best path to environmental stewardship.  But we also must realize that progress on emissions and energy reductions from a policy perspective represents a potential boon for U.S. innovation and business.

My company is growing fast because our customers – mostly Fortune 500s – can save money by using our technology to better manage their sustainability metrics (energy, GHG, water, etc). I am proud to say we are a living, breathing example of innovation that is creating “green jobs” .

America has a long and vibrant history of innovation. But without clear direction from policy on climate change, our innovation engine is idle. We need to take charge of our own destiny; companies need government leadership in policy to help pave the way for success, and that’s why Obama’s speech is so critical.

A vacuum has resulted in the absence of leadership since the Kyoto Accord, and has given rise to a false debate regarding whether or not we need to take any action at all. But it is clear that the world needs action from both an environmental and economic perspective. While the science behind global warming will likely always be debated, it cannot be argued that the environment is changing and that the global economy needs a new engine. With clear, aggressive, and comprehensive policy on climate change, we may get to solve both problems with one solution. But as long as we lack clear direction from our leaders, global business will be forced into a holding pattern.

President Obama faces a significant challenge.  It will be difficult for him to make significant and binding commitments on climate change, especially while such legislation is still being debated at home. But if Mr. Obama can successfully channel his ability to gather consensus in Copenhagen, it may pressure Congress to pass binding legislation.

Right now, the US is recognized as the leader in clean tech innovation.  But if clear policy signals are not received from the current administration at COP15, business is not likely to react and the opportunity will be seized by other economies. And the jobs will go with them.

In this light, the US opportunity in Copenhagen is not just about climate change, it’s about remaining at the epicenter of the clean tech economic revolution.  The Obama Administration has the formidable task of ensuring that the US comes out on top, and to demonstrate that what’s good for the environment is also good for the US economy.

Original article

While governments argue over emissions cuts, many firms have already started cleaning up their act, or at least preparing to do so—prompting more and more software firms to offer tools to help. If optimists are right, the market for “carbon-management software” could one day become at least as big as those for other important business applications such as customer-relationship-management (CRM) programs, which brought in revenues of more than $9 billion last year.

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It’s not the American way to sit back and let others dictate directions. John Podesta, the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, recently said: “Our current national discussion about constraints, limits and the costs of transition overshadows the economic opportunity of clean-energy investments. It is as if, on the cusp of the Internet and telecommunications revolution, debate centered only on the cost of digging trenches to lay fiber optic cable.”

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So what’s at stake at Copenhagen? Leadership. All of the opportunities and risks for the U.S. and its economy rest in this one concept, which is one that could make or break a new U.S. economy and fundamentally shift global economic markets. An economy will eventually emerge as the winner from Copenhagen, and the Obama Administration has the formidable task to break the glass ceiling for business to ensure it is the U.S. that comes out on top

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Obama will speak in Copenhagen on Dec. 9, the first visit to the annual U.N. conference by a sitting U.S. president since George H.W. Bush in 1992, and his speech is likely to be the focal point for the first week of the U.N. Conference.  The fact that President Obama is willing to go on record with reductions seems to indicate confidence that Congress will come to a resolution on a climate bill.  As Carbonetworks prepares to attend Copenhagen, we look forward to getting to hear the President speak on what we’ve long believed to be a critical issue of national leadership for all countries.