IN THE NEWS:   HIP CEO’S CLEANTECH MEMO
TO PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA
BusinessGreen.com, November 7, 2008 issue

What should U.S. President-elect Barack Obama do about clean technology, renewable energy and the environment?

Danny Bradbury, of online cleantech publisher BusinessGreen.com: “We tracked down several of the leading players in the US cleantech and environmental movement to find out what they want to see from an Obama administration and what they expect to get.   From signing Kyoto to awarding Presidential Medals of Freedom for clean tech heroes, here are their responses:”

R. Paul Herman is chief executive and founder of HIP Investor, a San Francisco-based financial firm with a number of green funds and indices:

“We need an integrated economic-environmental-social strategy across all three sectors (business, NGOs and government) that tracks results with an overall performance scorecard. By measuring the quantifiable improvements in environmental, social and human effects ““ and how they drive economic vitality ““ an Obama administration could better design the tax code, regulatory framework, and cross-sector incentives to stimulate an improved society.

If the government could shift its focus to managing outcomes (such as reduced cost per mile driven for vehicles) instead of picking and choosing products (avoiding ethanol subsidies), then we could unleash the full innovation of entrepreneurs everywhere to solve problems with a wide diversity of breakthrough solutions.

Cleantech is the perfect testing ground for this approach, since increased eco-impacts naturally correlate also with high ROIs for customers and increased profits for clean tech businesses.

Obama’s immediate challenges are to restore US credibility and leadership by signing Kyoto and securing immediate Senate approval by 31 January ““ to send the signal that the US is onboard globally, as Australia did with its new prime minister.

The new President must stop the backslide by intercepting ““ and reversing ““ the Bush and Cheney relaxations of industry regulation and reduced reporting.

Obama must accelerate eco-efficiency by kickstarting the auction process for a greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) trading system ““ even if it’s baby steps like the European version. We need the bidders’ money in the Treasury starting in 2009, and to begin rewarding the early movers (including the US CAP participants).

The new President should create eco-benefits by designing tax incentives for corporates who clean or restore the land, air and water. If clean tech products can pump cleaner water out than it was going in, why can’t we start applying these upstream in rivers and downstream in wastewater facilities?

Finally, Obama should reward the highest-performers in environment, social impact, job creation and economic vitality with Presidential Medals of Freedom. It’s appropriate for our cleantech heroes, and speeds the race to the top.”

Read the full text at BusinessGreen.com :

http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/analysis/2230045/clean-tech-titans-deliver-obama