f I were randomly asked to describe the first 10 years of the new millen-

nium as a superhero (weird question though, I must concede), the answer would have to be The Incredible Hulk.

For those who don’t know, The Incred-ible Hulk is the brutish alter ego of a brilliant scientist who turns green (and quite larger) when irritated. I might be reaching a little here, but it seemed like everyone and everything was go-ing green, and the more green became fashionable the larger the things turning green became. While I might just be ex-ercising my childhood whims by sifting out an analogy as random as this one, there are things that it does highlight. Larger companies are going green be-cause it is the smart thing to do (just like The Hulk), and they are becoming increasingly loud and more visible as they do so (just like The Hulk), but the question is: are they using their consid-erable power to actually do good or is there a grey line (just like The Hulk)?

All of this brings us to a term that has been around for over two decades but only recently became familiar to me…

“greenwashing”. Green Washing is de-fined by www.sourcewatch.com as “the unjustified appropriation of environ-mental virtue by a company, industry, politician or even an NGO [Non-Gov-ernmental Organisation] to try to sell a product or policy or to try to reha-bilitate its standing with the public after being embroiled in controversy.” Now, I think all of us know somewhere deep inside that not all the companies pro-fessing their “greenhood” or “green-ship” were actually being completely al-truistic, but we all give them the benefit of the doubt for whatever reason.

The most recent greenwashing de-bacle surrounds premium bottled wa-ter brand, Fiji, which is being sued by a group in California for its claims that the production of Fiji is “carbon nega-tive”. Carbon negative means that the production, packaging and shipment of the water remove more carbon pollu-tion from the atmosphere than it re-leases into it. Call me a sceptic, but that sounded a bit farfetched to me from the get go. The lawsuit demands resti-tution from the company for the profits that they gained from charging more

for their product because of how green they were thought to be.

It is impossible to think that a phenom-enon such as “going green” would not be exploited in some way or the other because of its naturally public-friendly feel, but it should equally be a fact of life that watchdog organisations should be set up all around the world to check the claims of companies and ensure that the environment is not being ex-

ploited in a new millennium sort of way. Are we going to make “green” the PR “it” word or does the second decade of this millennium hold something dif-ferent for us?

greenwashing?what is

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Now, I think all of us know some-where deep inside of us that not all the companies professing their “greenhood” or “greenship” were actually being completely altruis-tic but we all give them the ben-efit of the doubt for whatever reason.

I

business loungebyAndreBurnett

christopher williamsThe former NCB Capital Markets head honcho turned entrepreneur, had a bumper year in 2010 as the CEO of new look investment house, Proven I n v e s t m e n t s Limited. Un-

der Mr. Williams’ stewardship, Proven showed a net profit of $US5.55 million in November and strengthened its posi-tion with the purchase of Guardian As-set Management Jamaica Limited. With a shrewd understanding of the investment landscape in Jamaica and a distinctive and creative marketing campaign to match, Mr. Williams looks set to forge ahead in 2011, and more than likely surpass the success of 2010.

richardBylesThe Diageo-controlled Red Stripe Jamaica did not have such a Merry Christ-mas, as the year ended with much talk about the re-cently imposed

government tax regime that affected much of the products provided by the beverage giants. Shareholders were de-nied their customary year end dividends as the company blamed the tax regime for its reluctance to do so. With talk of export operations being moved out of Jamaica and the challenges faced by in-creased prices, it will be interesting to see

how Chairman Richard Byles, a revered figure in corporate Jamaica, navigates the increasingly choppy waters.

Bruce BowenIn 2010, the two most prized fil-lies of the Jamai-can banking sec-tor went neck and neck for most of the year, but Na-tional Commercial Bank (NCB) got

its nose across the line first, as Scotia-bank for the first time in a decade did not improve on profits. While everyone expected the implementation of the Ja-maica Debt Exchange programme to impact the banking sector somewhat negatively at first, NCB still showed a re-cord $11 billion profit, while Scotiabank did not quite reach that mark or its 2009 mark. It should be a great watch to see how Bruce Bowen, President and CEO of Scotiabank Jamaica, will attempt to battle NCB for the number one spot.

don wehByAfter dedicating two years to the public service as a Minis-ter without portfo-lio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Don Wehby returned to GraceKennedy Lim-ited in 2009, and in

2010 it was announced that the bright young executive would succeed Doug-las Orane as CEO of the GraceKennedy group in July 2011. Mr. Wehby has been one of the brightest minds in the coun-

try for some time, and it will be a treat to see how the iconic company will per-form under his stewardship.

chris dehringFor the past de-cade, Cable and Wireless Jamaica, now known as LIME, has strug-gled to cope with the grassroots popularity and ubiquity of rivals

Digicel, but 2010 signaled a possible light at the end of the tunnel. LIME launched its mobile television service at the end of the year and the product has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Could 2011 be the year that LIME, with Chairman Chris

Dehring, finds a way to reclaim some of its past dominance? We’re looking for-ward to what we expect to be a ding dong battle.

insights

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executives to watch in 2011THE TOP FIvE

Richard Byles

Bruce Bowen

Chris Dehring

Don Wehby

Christopher Williams

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the electric carTHE YEAR OF

T he 21st century is finally starting to look like the 21st century we imagined. There aren’t any flying cars as yet, but 2011 seems to be the year of the electric car. If Nissan, Chevrolet and other car companies have the public pegged right, we could be

plugging in instead of filling up very soon. It might be a while before we see these cars on our shores but let’s take a look at the electric car offerings for 2011.

The NissaN LeafThis seems to be the one that’s on everyone’s lips. This mid-sized five door

hatchback is creating waves with over 20,000 pre-orders in the United States. With an equivalent fuel economy that boggles the mind along with rave re-views about the handling, acceleration and power, the Nissan Leaf seems poised to make a splash all around the world.

ford focus eLecTricThis car has been shrouded in secrecy for months now with the only

news being leaked is that it will do almost a hundred miles on a single battery charge. The car will be an out and out electric car with the capability to be charged from a regular power outlet as well.

The fisker karmaNot much is known about this electric sports car but by all indications it should be a worthy competitor to the Tesla models which are already on the market.

The coda sedaNThe Coda sedan doesn’t quite have the masses abuzz as the two offerings above,

but it does have the distinct advantage of being able to be powered by any old power outlet (imagine the utility bill). The Coda is a great deal more costly than the Leaf, which could see it struggling against its competitors.

The chevy voLTThe volt differs from the Leaf because it is still a hybrid while the Leaf is all electric. The difference between the volt and previous hybrids is that while others simply started using a battery after cer-tain speeds, the volt uses only the battery, but has a small gasoline tank for those “just in case” moments. Chevy isn’t quite ready to quit petrol cold turkey just yet.

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