I have actually been grateful for the NPR pledge drive this year … I can make it almost all the way to work without being depressed by the endless litany of bad economic news. My sense is we are all a little numb by now about the numbers being thrown around in the news every day: $700 billion here, $800 billion there and soon you are talking about real money … While we all share the lurking worry about how the checks we are writing today will be cashed tomorrow, the immediate effects -- massive layoffs and crippled 401K portfolios -- are what keep us up at night.

Clearly now is the time for climate change -- economic climate change! Can the emerging green economy help bail us out of this mess? What are the right steps for green business strategy in these troubled times?

Just as your financial advisor might adjust your portfolio based on your tolerance for risk, businesses need to analyze their green strategies with a similar view. Conventional wisdom is to play defense right now. For the green economy, this translates into looking inwardly to identify and implement conservation plans that both cut costs and reduce environmental impacts.

Examples of these approaches are everywhere. Large companies like Wal-Mart view sustainability as a way to eliminate waste and inefficiency. Rather than selling "sustainable" products at a premium, Wal-Mart's strategy is to offer these products at the same or even lower prices.

The entire lifecycle of products and processes is under review to find new efficiencies that can save time, money and reduce environmental impact. Perhaps driven by customers like Wal-Mart, finding these savings has become big business. IBM's new SNOW (Supplier Network Optimization Workbench) allows clients to "optimize decisions for cost, service levels and lower CO2 emissions." Another example is the escalating competition between AMD and Intel to make a chip that uses less energy in server farms. The McKinstry Company in Seattle was even highlighted by President Obama's campaign infomercial for their work to retrofit buildings with energy efficient technology.

While conservation strategies will help the bottom line even if the top line is withering, smart businesses should keep one eye on an offensive strategy. When the recovery starts to take hold, there will be a series of new incentives and mandates that will open fresh opportunities for green businesses. President Obama's economic stimulus package, passed by the House of Representatives last week, contains a host of new incentives ranging from direct infusions of cash to strategic tax relief. Simultaneous with these new incentives, the Administration is moving quickly to fulfill their environmental protection agenda. Reversing the Bush decision to block California's limits on carbon emissions from new vehicles in the first week is a clear message: new environmental mandates are on the way.

Just as the pledge drive will end … so will the bad economic news (hopefully at the same time!). Until then, companies can ferret out cost and inefficiency now while preparing to take advantage of the green incentives and mandates that will lead the recovery.

Tim Mohin is a principal consultant and team leader for EORM's growing sustainability and corporate social responsibility practice. Formerly, Tim was Apple's senior manager for supplier responsibility and led Intel's environmental and sustainability efforts. He also led the development of national environmental strategy at the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Senate including the development of the National Environmental Technology Act. Email him by clicking here.