Will Volkswagen, Ford Motor Corp., and General Motors (GM) become new clean energy investors to the tune of Google?  The steps are baby-sized, but the shift is slowly occurring.  In my latest article on the Guardian Sustainable Business, I discuss what some of the leading automobile manufacturers are achieving on the renewable energy front.

Some may scoff and believe this is mere public relations by firms in Detroit and Wolfsburg, but I disagree.  In a hyper-competitive global market, companies on this side of the pond do not have the luxury to throw away money even at the most trifle of projects.  Volkswagen’s investment, however, is much more aggressive--the reality of operating in country that has both ambitious renewable energy projects and a shift in policy to ditch nuclear energy.

Unless oil crashes in price, I see more moves like this occurring in the market place.  Watch for more wind power and solar projects to emerge in the automakers’ pipelines.

You can read the entire article here.  And don’t miss the other fine work on The Guardian’s Energy Efficiency Hub.

About The Author

Leon Kaye

Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division, GGP Media. Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event. His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He writes for San Francisco-based Triple Pundit, Inhabitat and now The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's Architect Magazine. Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.