S.E.E. Change? S.E.E. Change Go Slow

As interest in all things green has surged, business groups in Washington have jumped cheerfully in. But as one association’s initiative illustrates, these high-profile efforts aren’t without risks.

In September, 2005, chief executives from Dow Chemical, Sun Microsystems, Xerox and three others joined then Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist at an event near the White House to tout a new initiative called S.E.E. Change.

Sponsored by the Business Roundtable, an advocacy group representing 150 bosses of big companies, the initiative set out to burnish business “as a force for good” in matters of society and environment. Along with the event, the Roundtable took out full-page ads in several big newspapers and won widespread press coverage, including an item on Forbes.com.

In Pictures: A Gallery Of Green Spin
The progress so far? S.E.E. Change (which stands for Society, Environment and Economy) has added 10 new members to a founding roster of 18 companies who committed to showcasing and tracking their sustainability efforts. Not an insignificant increase, but a long way from the S.E.E. objective of getting all 150 Business Roundtable companies on board.

“It’s an aspirational goal,” says Marian Hopkins, director of public policy for the Business Roundtable. “[S.E.E. Change participants] can be great advocates to other member companies.”

Full story at Forbes.com

It’s Not Easy Being Green

These days, Wall Street recoils from pure-play fuel cell companies. Several in the table below have seen their share price cut in half over the past year. Two trade below a buck.

But Washington remains bullish on fuel cells.

“We’ve seen an uptick in the interest level,” says William Mitchell, vice president of marketing at Nuvera Fuel Cells of Cambridge, Mass.

Mitchell and other fuel cell industry reps recently hosted a meeting to pitch their wares to federal government purchasing managers. More than 80 showed up. “That was sort of groundbreaking,” he says. “It shows they really think there’s some valuable products coming out.”

Tuesday, Nuvera was up on Capitol Hill to show off its products to Congress at an event sponsored by the U.S. Fuel Cell Council, a trade group. Presenting companies, among them giants like United Technologies and Chevron, had sales booths set up in a congressional caucus room, while rides in fuel-cell powered cars were ongoing down the street.

Full story at Forbes.com

Beltway Bet: FuelCell Energy

WASHINGTON, D.C. -Seven years ago, with California sweating through rolling electricity blackouts, the stock market worked up an appetite for outfits selling new ways of generating power. Shares of FuelCell Energy, a company in that business, spiked to a split-adjusted $54. Their recent price? $7, down 52% from a 52-week high.
Matters of energy and environment have hardly dropped out of the headlines, but the market’s enthusiasm for eco-stocks tends these days more to biofuels and solar power. SunPower, in the latter business, trades just 5% off a 52-week high of $48 and at a relatively rich 13 times its revenues.
For investors looking at long-term energy plays, don’t rule out FuelCell Energy. The federal government certainly hasn’t.

Full story at Forbes.com

Memo To Enviros: Go Easy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Five years ago, Roger Ballentine opened a lobbying and consulting shop, Green Strategies, to counsel companies on setting environmental agendas and dealing with eco-policy in Washington. At the time, he says, that corner of business was relatively quiet.

Things have picked up. “It’s just absolutely booming,” says Ballentine.

Full story at Forbes.com