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BiographyJoel Makower
Joel Makower is the executive editor of Greener World Media. Joel is a well-respected voice on business, the environment, and the bottom line. As a writer and strategist on corporate sustainability practices and clean technology, he has helped a wide range of companies align environmental goals with business strategy.
He is author of several books on business and sustainability; a frequent commentator in print, broadcast, and online media; and a regular lecturer to companies and business groups. He also is a co-founder and principal of Clean Edge Inc., a research and publishing firm focusing on clean technologies, and serves as a senior consultant to GreenOrder, a sustainability strategy firm.
From 1991 to 2005, Joel was editor of The Green Business Letter, an award-winning monthly newsletter on corporate environmental strategy. Joel is a graduate in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley and is an advisor to more than a dozen start-ups and non-profit organizations. The Associated Press has called Joel "the guru of green business practices."
Joel also blogs on "Two Steps Forward" at http://makower.typepad.com
Columns
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Jeffrey Hollender, the founder, CEO at Seventh Generation, published a counterpoint to my recent post, How Bad Is Greenwashing, Really? I encourage you to read it here. I just responded on his site, and thought I'd share the conversation here. To wit: Jeffrey, Thanks for your comment. I've long admired your outspokenness on the topic of the green marketplace, and your willingness to be, as you describe yourself, an inspired protagonist. I don't disagree with some of your points, but I think you missed mine. It wasn't about companies that can't handle criticism. And it wasn't about condoning companies that are being misleading or dishonest. As you well know, I have been an outspoken critic of greenwashing myself over the past twenty years. But there is a tremendous amount of
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Is greenwashing really as bad a problem as some are making it out to be? I've been thinking about this question a lot recently, as the G-word crops up more and more frequently in articles, blogs, reports, and conversations. Of course, the answer depends a lot on one's view of the potential for big companies to improve their environmental performance — and talk truthfully about it — and whether the pace of corporate change is sufficient to address the magnitude of the problems we face. Like "beauty" (and "green"), "greenwash" is in the eye of the beholder. The definition of greenwashing has changed in recent years. In the early 1990s, the term was used to describe deliberate and cynical attempts by companies to mislead the public about their
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As fuel and electricity prices have ratcheted up, so, too, have the queries about what to do: where can companies, especially smaller ones, go for help? On the one hand, that's a big, vague question. Where you go depends on what business you are in, where you're located, what you need, and how much, if anything, you're able to spend. On the other hand, there's a lot of help out there, much of it low-cost or free, if only you know where to look. Below are just a few of the resources aimed at small and midsize companies. They will be of help largely to U.S.-based companies — apologies to those elsewhere, though there likely are analogs to these resources in other countries. This is by no means comprehensive; indeed, it probably only scratches the surface. But it points to a handful
Features
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On the eve of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Bali, two new reports show how tantalizingly able we are to reduce our climate footprint -- and how frustratingly far we are from taking the needed steps to do so.
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Ron Jarvis, Home Depot's vice president of Environmental Innovations, sat down with GreenBiz's Joel Makower to discuss the progress made and lessons learned during the first half-year of the retail giant's project to promote eco-friendly products.
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Two thousand seven is barely a fortnight old, but it's already shaping up to be the year that climate change action reaches a tipping point. The signs seem to be everywhere, says Joel Makower.
Articles
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We've been working long hours behind the scenes to make GreenBiz.com and our sister sites even more useful and information-packed. At last, here it is, and here's what new and improved about the sites.
Podcast
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According to author Diane MacEachern, women hold the upper hand in the majority of business and consumer purchasing decisions, and as a result can play a big role in growing the green economy. GreenBiz.com editor Joel Makower spoke with MacEachern about her new book, "The Big Green Purse."
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In this interview with Denise Waggoner, the vice president of creative research at Getty Images, Joel Makower finds out what colors and images make consumers think green -- and that not all shades of green are created equal.
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For 25 years, the co-founder and "CE-Yo" of Stonyfield Farms, has shown that making yogurt doesn't necessarily require the same old culture. GreenBiz executive editor Joel Makower talked with Hirshberg recently about his new book and how corporations can bring out positive global change.
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