Green is the New Greens

By Tracy Bramlet , Director, Industry Marketing Financial Services for GXS

Bleeding heart that I am it definitely warms my soul to see the number of banks and financial institutions that are turning green.  Some, like Citigroup and now Deutsche Bank are leading the charge.  But since no one has ever said that business is compassionate or even particularly altruistic, the little realist sitting on my shoulder recognises that these organisations are not driven by purely selfless reasons.  But neither are most of us.

Let's face it...truly going green is hard and it can be expensive. I recycle, I walk sometimes when I could drive and I look for organic products which usually cost a bit more than regular preservative laced options. So at home--I feel like I'm doing my part to be "green".  But on the road, in most instances recycling is not an option.  (You'll notice I said most, because I will give a plug to the Westin chain which does have recycling cans in the room--woohoo.) It's also not easy to know whether or not the meal you ordered is using local produce or vegetables that have been imported from another country.  So why bother to even try to "go green"?  You don't get tax breaks, discounts or even a pat on the back but you do get a feeling that maybe just maybe you're making a difference.

So why are banks even considering "going green" when it's not a "must" for doing business.  Well  the fact is that "going green" often equals big "green dollars". But the potential for a healthier bottom line can't be the only reason.  Perhaps, at the simplest level, it may just be that banks and other organisations are populated by people--who might just might want to feel like they're making a difference too.