Businesses—yes, businesses—push for clean energy

A new coalition wants Congress to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions. Sound like no big deal? Before you start yawning, take note: this coalition isn’t made up of the usual suspects in the environmental movement. This coalition is made up of businesses.

American Businesses for Clean Energy (ABCE) launched four months ago with a simple goal: to demonstrate the vast amount of business support that exists for climate change legislation. Already, about 2500 businesses in 41 states have signed onto the initiative.

The lesson is that being pro-planet can also be pro-profit. We can’t have sustainable businesses in an unsustainable world. Even better, we can ensure that slashing greenhouse gas emissions reduces energy costs rather than increasing them. All we need is the creativity and political will to undertake real reform.

With the business community starting to holler, the chances for such reform just got better.