A few years ago, scientists at Cargill Inc learned how to make rigid, transparent plastics from corn sugars. There was just one problem: They cost a lot more than the oil-based plastics they would replace.
But that was before the price of oil shot up and companies came under pressure from consumers and investors to find economically sound ways to adopt "green" packaging and other environmentally friendly products and processes. This year, Wal-Mart, Wild Oats Market, and a host of other retailers, as well as food suppliers like Del Monte and Newman's Own Organics, have all embraced corn-based packaging for fresh produce.
Sales at NatureWorks, the Cargill subsidiary that makes the plastic, grew 200 percent in the first half of this year over the period last year. "The early adopters were more influenced by environmental concerns than costs," said Kathleen Bader, chairman of NatureWorks. "But now we're competitive with petrochemicals, too."
Cargill is one of several companies profiting from the concerns -- of shareholders, communities, and consumers alike -- about global warming, leaking landfills, and other potential environmental hazards. Huge companies like General Electric and Chevron now have separate businesses to market what they are calling environment-friendly products.
And new companies and university projects appear each day. Cornell
University's College of Engineering, for one, expects to have a commercial process for using bacteria to recoup energy from wastewater treatment within three years.
"There are a lot of creative types looking for the next big thing," said Robert Sheppard, deputy director for corporate programs at Clean Air-Cool Planet, a nonprofit environmental education organization. "Well, these days, environment is it."
It is impossible to quantify the environmental industry. Many of the newer companies are privately held. And many "green" products -- more efficient power generators, say, or biodegradable plastics -- are parts of other industries.
But investors are clearly funneling ever more money into green technologies. Last year, the California Public Employees Retirement System, or Calpers, said it would invest US$200 million in what it called the "burgeoning environmental technology sector."
This year, 27 members of the Investor Network on Climate Risk promised to invest US$1 billion in companies with green products. "The environmental industry is about to take off, as more investors realize that they can reap returns from cleaner technologies," said Dan Bakal, director of electric power programs at Ceres, a coalition of investors and environmental organizations that runs the investor network.
cutting edge
Entrepreneurs say the change is palpable. Northern Biodiesel, a small company in Ontario, New York, recently got financing for a plant to turn cooking oils and agricultural waste into diesel fuel. "Banks used to dismiss me as a tree-hugger when I tried to borrow for an environmentally advantaged product," said Bob Bechtold, the
company's vice president.
In one sense, the current environmental boon is a replay of the 1970s, when regulations spawned a profitable industry to sell electrostatic precipitators, air scrubbers, and other air cleaning devices. New federal rules limiting diesel emissions are spurring sales now, too.
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