That's the idea behind Big Green Breakthrough, a new coaching program by Diane MacEachern, a veteran communications strategist and environmental writer.
She says that with their growing numbers as business owners and leaders and their existing buying clout, women can "lead us out of the recession, especially if they are 'green.' "
A longtime proponent of environmental responsibility as a success strategy, MacEachern launched her coaching program this week for women who want to learn how to better leverage their business and buying power for the greener good -- and for the good of their bottom line.
She provides an online preview of the 12 core concepts covered in her program in her company blog.
MacEachern, the author of the "Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World," spoke with GreenBiz.com Executive Editor Joel Makower in a podcast about her book last spring.
She reels off the following statistics when making her points regarding "Big Green Purse" and her new venture:
• Women make 80 percent of all consumer buying decisions and control at least half of business-to-business purchases.
• All told, the purchasing decisions for 85 cents of every $1 in spending are made by women.
• Firms owned by women account for 40 percent of privately held U.S. companies and generate more than $3.6 trillion in sales. The sales figure reflects a 132 percent increase since 1992.
• More than 27.5 million jobs are attributed to operations by firms owned by women, and employment among those businesses grew 102 percent since 1987.
• Growth of firms owned by women outpaces that of overall business growth by almost 2 to 1.