GE’s green sales top $12bn

An interesting story on the NY Times about GE‘s overall Ecomagination transition under the helm of boss Jeffrey Immelt.

The Ecomagination line now features 45 products with $12 billion in sales. Although skeptics might look upon Ecomagination as the latest version of corporate “greenwashing,” it has impressed socially conscious investors with memories of Mr. Welch.

“G.E. used to be stuck in the past,” says Bennett Freeman, senior vice president for social research and policy at the Calvert Group, an investment company. “But the effect of G.E. and Ecomagination is huge. When G.E. commits to renewable energy, the argument is over in corporate America.”

Mr. Immelt and Ms. Bolsinger say that the point of Ecomagination isn’t to save the planet but to make money.