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  • 1.  Rating Business "Greenness"

    Posted 06-06-2008 17:05
    So far, it does not look like there is any generally accepted (or better yet validated) criteria for rating how green a business is.
     
    I suggest that a validated instrument to measure "greenness" be developed so more research can be conducted on this predictor variable, and then it can be correlated to various outcome variables.
     
    I found several municipalities have their own certification programs, for example here's the criteria for the Bay Area:
     
     
    Notice at the bottom of the following page, that "greenness criteria" are different for different type of businesses:
     
     
    Here's the criteria Co-Op America uses:
     
     
    Because there is currently no simple set of questions available to determine "greenness", for now I probably will supply a general definition of greenness:
    Environmentally friendly and sustainable.  Minimizing the input of resources, especially if they are non-renewable.  Minimizing the output and toxicity of waste. Etc.
     
    I then plan to use a simple scale to rate businesses between 1 and 9:
     
    Compared to competing businesses, this business is:
    1. Not green at all
    3. Less green than average
    5. About average in greenness 
    7. More green than average
    9. Extremely green
     
    Any feedback or thoughts would be appreciated.
     
    Thanks,
     
    Dr. Gerry Segal, Associate Professor
    Director, Institute for Entrepreneurship
    Florida Gulf Coast University
    Lutgert College of Business
    10501 FGCU Blvd. South
    Fort Myers, FL  33965-6565
     
    "Florida has a very broad public records law.  As a result, any written communication created or received by Florida Gulf Coast University employees is subject to disclosure to the public and the media, upon request, unless otherwise exempt.  Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records.  If you do not want your email address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity.  Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing."


  • 2.  Rating Business "Greenness"

    Posted 06-06-2008 19:07
    I'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet in response to the original question.
     
    But, do take a look at the various Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) indices that exist.  There are Dow Jones, Innovest, and KLD.  Each has its own set of factors, with its own set of limitations.
     
    -Joe S.
    From: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion [ONE-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu] On Behalf Of Segal, Dr. Gerry [gsegal@FGCU.EDU]
    Sent: Friday, June 06, 2008 5:05 PM
    To: ONE-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
    Subject: Rating Business "Greenness"

    So far, it does not look like there is any generally accepted (or better yet validated) criteria for rating how green a business is.
     
    I suggest that a validated instrument to measure "greenness" be developed so more research can be conducted on this predictor variable, and then it can be correlated to various outcome variables.
     
    I found several municipalities have their own certification programs, for example here's the criteria for the Bay Area:
     
     
    Notice at the bottom of the following page, that "greenness criteria" are different for different type of businesses:
     
     
    Here's the criteria Co-Op America uses:
     
     
    Because there is currently no simple set of questions available to determine "greenness", for now I probably will supply a general definition of greenness:
    Environmentally friendly and sustainable.  Minimizing the input of resources, especially if they are non-renewable.  Minimizing the output and toxicity of waste. Etc.
     
    I then plan to use a simple scale to rate businesses between 1 and 9:
     
    Compared to competing businesses, this business is:
    1. Not green at all
    3. Less green than average
    5. About average in greenness 
    7. More green than average
    9. Extremely green
     
    Any feedback or thoughts would be appreciated.
     
    Thanks,
     
    Dr. Gerry Segal, Associate Professor
    Director, Institute for Entrepreneurship
    Florida Gulf Coast University
    Lutgert College of Business
    10501 FGCU Blvd. South
    Fort Myers, FL  33965-6565
     
    "Florida has a very broad public records law.  As a result, any written communication created or received by Florida Gulf Coast University employees is subject to disclosure to the public and the media, upon request, unless otherwise exempt.  Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records.  If you do not want your email address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity.  Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing."


  • 3.  Rating Business "Greenness"

    Posted 06-06-2008 19:20
    Gerry,

    I dont' believe we will ever get an acceptable defintion of green. Such concepts as "environmentally friendly" and "sustainable" are even more fungible than "socially responsible," and look how disastrously bad the SRI ranking services have done in trying to rate the SR value of companies. Look at the financials, the single worst performing market sector over the past year. Almost every one of those companies was ranked near the top of the lists by SRI services, yet every one marketed irresponsible loans that they did not even understand internally. go back to the firms that self-immolated in the last bubble disaster, in 2000-2002. I would say that almost every one of the companies who collapsed because of poor ethical practices was at one time or another rated as an exemplar of SR.

    Green is even harder to define. Nuclear energy company? I personally would rank it near the top as being sustainable and environmentallly friendly, but I dare so I would be attacked by many on this list. Many "green" concepts are ideological, not scientific. Can we measure a company's toxic waste emmissions or the number of times it has been cited for violations? Sure, and that's useful information, but to be of real value it needs to be contextualized, and that means it goes through an ideological filter and that means we're on the slipper slope to Enron-ville and Bear Stearns land.

    Disclosure and comentary are important. I know humans have a desire to categorize and organize, and there will be a huge push for formulaic anlyses of "green" performance, but I can comfortably say that we will never have a particularly useful system that isn't so infected by ideological biases that it would render any manipulation of the data not only useless but worse: miseading.

    Since you asked!!!

    Jon Entine


    -----Original Message-----
    From: "Segal, Dr. Gerry" <gsegal@fgcu.edu>
    Sent: Jun 6, 2008 5:05 PM
    To: ONE-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
    Subject: Rating Business "Greenness"

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    So far, it does not look like there is any generally accepted (or better yet validated) criteria for rating how green a business is.
     
    I suggest that a validated instrument to measure "greenness" be developed so more research can be conducted on this predictor variable, and then it can be correlated to various outcome variables.
     
    I found several municipalities have their own certification programs, for example here's the criteria for the Bay Area:
     
     
    Notice at the bottom of the following page, that "greenness criteria" are different for different type of businesses:
     
     
    Here's the criteria Co-Op America uses:
     
     
    Because there is currently no simple set of questions available to determine "greenness", for now I probably will supply a general definition of greenness:
    Environmentally friendly and sustainable.  Minimizing the input of resources, especially if they are non-renewable.  Minimizing the output and toxicity of waste. Etc.
     
    I then plan to use a simple scale to rate businesses between 1 and 9:
     
    Compared to competing businesses, this business is:
    1. Not green at all
    3. Less green than average
    5. About average in greenness 
    7. More green than average
    9. Extremely green
     
    Any feedback or thoughts would be appreciated.
     
    Thanks,
     
    Dr. Gerry Segal, Associate Professor
    Director, Institute for Entrepreneurship
    Florida Gulf Coast University
    Lutgert College of Business
    10501 FGCU Blvd. South
    Fort Myers, FL  33965-6565
     
    "Florida has a very broad public records law.  As a result, any written communication created or received by Florida Gulf Coast University employees is subject to disclosure to the public and the media, upon request, unless otherwise exempt.  Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records.  If you do not want your email address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity.  Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing."