I've long ago concluded that the success of the green marketplace won't come from consumer demand, since consumers have proven themselves wishy-washy on their willingness to make good, green shopping choices. Rather, it will come from business and institutional procurement -- large companies, government agencies, universities, and others that embed environmental specifications or strategies into their purchasing policies and criteria. After all, that's how green building succeeded: when cities, counties, and states mandated the use of LEED standards for public buildings, followed by the U.S. federal government, colleges and universities, and leadership companies. Now, it's getting increasingly difficult to construct a building that isn't green.

Under that light, the recent findings of our GreenBiz Intelligence Panel -- our 2,500+ member community that we query monthly on green business issues -- are of particular interest. They show a sharp increase in green purchasing, from computers to chemicals to cleaning supplies. Perhaps even more encouraging, none of the respondents from large companies (those with revenues over $1 billion) identified any decrease in buying green. That's encouraging, and bodes well for manufacturers and marketers.

Inside the Sustainability Consortium: Along those lines, one of the biggest shifts in business-to-business procurement is coming from Walmart, which this summer formally launched a process to evaluate companies and products for their environmental performance. The product evaluation methodology falls in the hands of the Sustainability Consortium, a newly formed group headquartered at two universities. The Consortium, whose work could affect countless thousands of companies and brands, has been a source of myths and misunderstandings about what it will actually do.

Our December 2 webcast -- a conversation with the Consortium's two co-chairs -- aims to help clear that up. It will include a presentation by co-chairs Jon Johnson and Jay Golden followed by a Q&A session with me, after which Johnson and Golden will answer your questions. The 90-minute duration should give ample time to delve deeply into what the group is, where it is going, and what your company needs to know. Seats are limited and filling up fast (and is likely to sell out). To register, click here.

For Our Northern California Readers: You are also cordially invited to attend the EcoSecurities San Francisco launch of the Carbon Management and Offsetting Survey Report 2009, on the evening of November 30. Earlier this year, EcoSecurities partnered with Baker & McKenzie LLP and our own ClimateBiz.com to conduct a survey on the carbon offsetting trends for 2009. This quantitative research study has been compiled into a comprehensive report which gives an overview of the needs, wants and motivations of more than 280 corporations purchasing carbon offsets. At this event, a panel of experts will present and discuss the report and its implications. To RSVP, click here.

This study finds that a robust climate bill could boost the U.S. economy by about $111 billion by 2020 and create as many as 1.9 million jobs.
 

This report details the rationale for the Carbon Disclosure Project's new program, the CDP Water Disclosure, an initiative aimed at helping institutional investors better understand the business risks and opportunities associated with water scarcity.

 At this unprecedented 90-minute webinar, the Consortium’s co-chairs will provide an up-to-date accounting of its activities, describe where the group is headed, and answer your questions.