Joel Makower's Two Steps Forward blog is always worth reading. Joel touts himself as someone who can "cut through the hype and haze to provide clarity and perspective on a range of business environmental issues."

According to a Yankelovich study Makower cites:

Concern about environmental issues is running high in the country today, but people are notorious for espousing pro environmental attitudes and intentions that never translate into changes in lifestyle or purchasing patterns.

In fact, the Yankelovich study found that only 21% of consumers plan to calculate their carbon footprint in the next year.

So, it must be a good thing that, as Makower states in another post:

The world of public relations has discovered green with a vengeance, and the big global firms seem locked, loaded and ready to fire up their drum beating.

Of course, the impact of all this remains to be seen.

Will increased coverage of green business issues lead to a virtuous cycle, in which heightened public attention and expectations of companies lead to even more and more substantive, business commitments and actions? Or will the public tire of a steady drumbeat of me-too green products and stories, thus feeding their existing skepticism and spurring them to get off the green bandwagon even before it reaches cruising speed?

As an ex-PR guy, I'd feel a lot better about our future if consumers were leading the environmental charge, but at this point in time I'll applaud leadership from any sector.

Carbon Neutral Journal's thoughts are brought to you by Hawtin Jorgensen Architects.

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