Discussion and Team Work

Your group is given an opportunity to organize a business enterprise of the 21^st century. Do not forget that ‘how we do matters more than what we do’.

a) Select the company’s name. (A company name should inspire confidence and project a professional image. Choose a name that you can be proud of.)

b) Develop the mission and the vision of the company.

c) Select your company product.

· give the full description of your product,

· name product’s two most important features, and

· describe the people who are most likely to be interested in purchasing your product.

Present the results of your work in class.

HOME ASSIGNMENT: 1. Read the article “Hugging the tree-huggers”

2. Make up word list on topical vocabulary (word – translation- definition- example)

3. Write an answer (100 words) to the question “ Why so many companies are suddenly linking up with eco groups.”

4. Find ‘green ads’ and be ready to discuss their effectiveness.

Unit 5

Class work:

Thoughts to ponder:

• Acting locally can protect the global garden
• Environmentalism as a global issue

By Diane Brady MARCH 12, 2007

THE ENVIRONMENT

Hugging The Tree-Huggers

Why so many companies are suddenly linking up with eco groups. Hint: Smart business

When William K. Reilly was plotting the private equity takeover of Texas utility TXU Corp. (TXU), he foresaw one potential dealbreaker. It wasn't the money. The two main investors--Texas Pacific Group, where Reilly is senior adviser, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.--wouldn't have any trouble financing the $45 billion deal. Nor was it about getting regulatory approval. Instead, says Reilly, "we decided the walk-away issue for us was not getting environmentalists’ support."

So Reilly called Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, whose Texas attorney, James D. Marston, had been waging an all-out war on TXU's plans to build 11 coal-fired power plants. Krupp told Marston to hop on a plane to San Francisco for a top-secret meeting with Reilly's team. "I ran home, got a suit, took the dog to a kennel, and told my wife I loved her but couldn't tell her what it was about," says Marston.

The ensuing negotiations were often tense. Enviros referred to TXU's expansion plans as the " Mein Kampf of the global warming wars." When Reilly heard that, he recalls telling his colleagues: "'This will be harder than I thought." After a marathon 17 hours, Reilly ended up giving Marston a big chunk of what he wanted: commitments by the new TXU owners to ax 8 of the 11 proposed plants and to join the call for mandatory national carbon emissions curbs. Meanwhile, the corporate raiders got exactly what they craved: public praise from Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) for the deal.

Why was that so important? "We all swim in the same culture--and the culture is going green," explains Reilly. Indeed, Americans find nongovernmental organizations, like green groups, more credible than business, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual survey. That's a switch from five years ago, and it gives activists additional clout. "Companies have to be seen as responsible," says Karen Van Bergen, vice-president of McDonald's Europe.

The TXU takeover is a sign of a remarkable evolution in the dynamic between corporate executives and activists. Once fractious and antagonistic, it has moved toward accommodation and even mutual dependence. Companies increasingly seek a "green" imprimatur, while enviros view changes in how business operates as key to protecting the planet.

Examples of this new relationship are as ubiquitous as Al Gore at the Academy Awards. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) turned to Conservation International to help shape ambitious goals to cut energy use, switch to renewable power, and sell millions of efficient fluorescent bulbs. When the CEOs of 10 major U.S. corporations converged on Washington on Jan. 22 and issued a call for mandatory carbon emissions limits, sitting with them at the table were Fred Krupp and the president of the NRDC. And after Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition activists got Dell Inc.'s (DELL) attention by chaining themselves to computer monitors, they worked with the computer maker on a groundbreaking recycling plan. "Companies have decided it is better to invite us into the tent than have us outside picketing their keynote speeches," says Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition founder Ted Smith. "It's a long way from where we started."

Twenty years ago, for instance, current Greenpeace International chief Gerd Leipold was cruising the Rhine, taking action against corporate polluters. He and his comrades would block pipes spewing effluents into the river and sometimes pump the waste back. Now he can be found wearing a pinstripe suit, standing with CEOs, and heaping praise on companies he sees as doing the right thing. "We've shifted from just pointing out the problems to pushing for real solutions," says Leipold. "When congratulations are deserved, we offer them."

For companies, alliances with environmentalists can help both the bottom line and the public image. "We used to see Greenpeace as the enemy," says DuPont CEO Charles O. Holliday Jr. Now DuPont employs Paul Gilding, former head of Greenpeace International, as a paid consultant, and the company ranks high on lists of green leaders. "We work with our enemies,» says Holliday.

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