1.Energy efficiency

Companies, countries and society have already figured out that tackling the negawatts is usually the most profitable way of cutting carbon. 2011 will the year where inneficiencies will be tackled in an impressive variety of ways. From companies profiting from selling innovative solutions to consumers, other companies and governments to green deals from governments. Even in Russia where climate change is not a popular topic, energy efficiency is one of the biggest topics for the year.

2. Full transparency will show up the true impacts

After the previous decade, people have had enough of carbon geezing, the term I use to include things such as companies saying they are carbon neutral even if it’s not the point, the abuse of offsets standars, the thousands of magic labels, etc. Full transparency (publishing all the impacts of all the life cycle stages of all your products) will be the only way your customers will trust you.

3. Legislation: leading companies will say ‘bring it on’

Tired of minimum-common-denominator business-association-led type of lobbying and advocacy, leading companies will tell governments yes to smart legislation. Yes, to efficiency standards, to a reasonable carbon price floor and well crafted bans (eg our wish of a ban on carpet landfill). Governments are realizing of how tiring and useless are voluntary agreements if there is no stick or threat attached to it. But smart legislation wont mean going back to the old school green legislation using the environment as an excuse for taxation.

4. The come back of the environmental geek

Companies will start hiring more people with ability to do proper LCAs because they need to understand their impacts at product life cycle level. And they will hire less in green spin doctors because the LCA facts will speak by themselves