If the "Darth Vader" of American business — of course I’m referring to Wal-Mart — can embrace environmental awareness and responsibility, then you know this is a Big Idea whose time has come. Now, if we could just get the US Government to do the same, we might be getting somewhere. But, that’s a discussion for another blog and another time.

The fact is that the most hopeful sign for the environmental movement today is not even the growing acceptance of global warming (thanks to the incredibly prescient Al Gore and his landmark move/book/phenomenon "An Inconvenient Truth"). The newest hope for the environment can been seen in the increasingly strong action by businesses of all sizes, across the globe, to go green. Of course, they are going green to get green. But there is nothing wrong with that just so the result is the same.

This is a great example of a Big Idea. People and companies ultimately act out of self preservation and enhancement. We’d all like to think that altruistic, community-oriented motives truly inspire people and institutions to take action and do good things, and sometimes that is even true. In the majority of cases, however, stuff happens because it has a direct result on the individual, the company or the government, and that is what is now happening with the burgeoning green trend in business.

The April 2, 2007 issue of Fortune Magazine chronicles this global movement. The front cover features the founder and CEO of Patagonia, one of the first green businesses and still a stand out in the field. More interesting are the stories inside, which report on how business titans such as HP, Goldman Sachs, PG&E (an environmentally astute energy company?!) and Continental Airlines are taking very innovative steps to save energy and drive more to the bottom-line through environmental conservation efforts. Ultimately, everyone wins. The companies and shareholders make more money and we all benefit from a collective improvement in the environment.

Needless to say, much more needs to be done, and many businesses continue to be egregious polluters and energy wasters. Back to the Wal-Mart example. Partly out of good business, and partly out of good public relations (something his company desperately needs), Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott has become somewhat of a budding environmental evangelist. The company announced recently that it is switching all of its stores to compact fluorescent bulbs, a big cost savings for Wal-Mart and a major win for the earth. Scott has made the environment a major strategy for Wal-Mart, and that ultimately will translate into good marketing for the Wal-Mart brand.

Again, Big Ideas are where you find them. The fact that going green is indeed good business is a classic example of a Big Idea. It is something that we marketers and communicators could learn a lot from.

Remember, the equation for developing and nurturing Big Ideas is surprisingly simple:

Big Ideas = Deep Understanding + Broad Curiosity + Fearless Creativity 

And, that even goes true for saving the earth.

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