An Inconvenient Truth wins two Oscars; Conscious capitalism the next megatrend; Citigroup publishes climate report

"An Inconvenient Truth," the big-screen adaptation of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's slide-show lecture about the perils of global warming, won Academy Awards on Sunday for documentary feature and best song. Great job, Al Gore - What's next? I think that Hollywood will wote democratic this year.

Patricia Aberdene is considered one of the leadind mega-trend predicters in the world. In the year 1982 she predicted the transformation intoa new information age, and in the 1990 she wrote about jumping further into a technology based and web- based reality. In her latest "Megatrend" book, in 2002, she predicts the step towards a conscious capitalism. According to Aberdene traditional capitalism " business as usual", has proven to be destructive to humanity, environment and society at large. She points out that the next megatrend in business is competitive advantage based on corporate responsibility, where social and environmental performance will define the winners and loosers. Get her book on Amazon on http://www.amazon.com/Megatrends-2010-Rise-Conscious-Capitalism/dp/1571744568
If Aberdene's predictions once again prove to be true, ethically consciouss consumers will be mainstream, and businesses will compete to be the most responsible company.

Citigroup has published a massive climate report. It is filled with physics, climate science and graps, but one section provides extremely interesting information: The behavioral implications of climate change on corporations. the section is split into four parts: how climate change affects consumers; litigants; investors; and corporations. Here are some best shots:


Consumer behavior

• Consumers in the two countries responsible for the most emissions of GHGs (USA & China) care least about the issue
• On average European consumers would only pay up to 5% premium price on a climate friendly product
• Historically, consumers have anyway had great power in pushing through more environmentally sound solutions: Remember CFCs (used in aerosol sprays) and the Tuna Boycotts? Consequently, consumer products businesses are starting to adapt their products for clime-conscious consumers.

Litigant behavior

• If corporations do anyway not care about what consumers think, then they might care of the actions of litigants. There are at least two very interesting trials coming up in the U.S. this year: First, the supreme Court is set to rule on the federal regulation of GHG emissions (the question is whether GHGs are pollution, and whether Environmental Protection Agency EPA should have the mandate to regulate them). Second, the Alliance of automobile Manufacturers against the California Air Resources Board and its efforts to reduce GHG emissions from passenger vehicles in California.

Investor behavior

• Carbon disclosure Project, a coalition of institutional investors representing more than $US 31 trillion in assets, has, for the past several years, been requesting information perfaining to GHG emissions from large multinational companies. 72% of the global FT500 companies responded to the request in 2006 (up from 47% in 2003).
• Climate-related shareholder resolutions that were filed with U.S. companies tripled in 2004-2005 the number of 2000-2001
• SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) funds in the U.S. rose in 2005 to 2,29 $ trillion, so that nearly one out of ten dollars under professional management was involved in SRI.

Corporate behavior

• Consumers, litigants, and investors all affect corporate behavior
• From corporate perspective, climate-friendly policies have five distinct advantages: They may lower costs trough energy-efficiency; They enhance corporate reputation and brand; They may yield a 'first-mover' advantage; they may lead to expanded market potential for new products; they institutionalize a climate-friendly mentality and keep management alert to climate related opportunities and risks.
• In 2006 McKinsey survey, 28% of executives in 116 countries cited environmental issues, including climate change, as one of the issues likely to have the most impact on shareholder value over the next five years.