Ever feel like a sucker? Well right now, you should. After taking billions in bailout loans from the Federal Government, promising a half-million electric cars on the road by 2013 and even going so as establishing an electric vehicles program, Fiat-owned Chrysler has renegged on pretty much all of its electric car promises after axing the ENVI program.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who saw Chrysler’s revised vehicle lineup last week, but it still feels like a kick in the gut.

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In my work in Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainable business, Whole Foods has always been a company to benchmark against.  They were one of the first major retailers to offset 100% of their energy use with wind energy credits; voluntarily stop using plastic bags company-wide; join the Non-GMO Project’s Product Verification Program; and develop a certification program, the Whole Trade Guarantee, in partnership with non-profits.  Plus, the company has received a plethora of sustainability and environmental awards and recognition.  So I was just wondering…with a track record like that, can a renegade CEO damage the company’s brand reputation as a socially responsible company?  Well, John Mackey, co-founder and chief executive of Whole Foods, is sure giving it the old college try.

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Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, talks Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) and EEStor’s promising new battery technologies with Ian Clifford, CEO of ZENN Motor Company.

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Bankruptcy? What bankruptcy? New GM emerged from a gov’ment cradled bankrupcty filing just a month ago, but it seems like business as usual at the former American manufacturing giant. At a press conference this mornig, New GM CEO Fritz Henderson wasted no time explaining a recent marketing campaign involving the numbers 23 and a smiling electrical outlet.

230 “composite” miles per gallon for the Chevy Volt, city rating of course. 230 miles per gallon? What kind of voodoo magic are they putting in those batteries?

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So, when I pulled up the recorded webcast of Monday’s Sustainability Milestone Meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas, I was very interested to see what Mike Duke, who will take over the reigns of the company on February 2nd, had to say about the topic in relationship to the current economic climate.

Of course, this meeting was “star-studded” in a fashion: no Queen Latifah or American Idol winners, but famed architect and cradle-to-cradle proponent William McDonough was the keynote speaker for the event. While I’m always interested to hear what McDonough had to say, Duke was the one to watch at this meeting. The move towards sustainability has been a keystone of the second half of outgoing CEO Lee Scott’s tenure at the helm; would Duke give any indication that he didn’t share his predecessor’s passion for greening the company?

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He also readily admits, with a signature askew smile and hearty laugh, that “being an academic is possibly the worst possible preparation for the business world,” and endorses a strong marketing presence in any renewable energy start up because the engineers “can’t seem to understand why somebody wouldn’t want this marvelous invention!”

It’s 7:52pm Wednesday night at the venture capital-esque forum put on by the VEF on CEO War Stories.

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The Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), a non-profit, non-partisan organization made up of CEOs from Canada's leading companies has begun an Environmental Leadership Initiative to get the nation on track for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting clean technologies for a sustainable future.

As part of this initiative the CCCE has appointed a Task Force of their CEO members from all industry sectors to develop a comprehensive and realistic plan for national emission reductions.

One of the Task Force Chairs, Richard B. Evans, President and CEO of Alcan is reported as saying:

Canadian businesses already have invested a great deal in making our operations and products more energy-efficient, developing new technologies to reduce emissions and costs, and shaping sustainable business models… we realize that we can and must do more as a business community. However, this must be part of a broader, more integrated set of policies and efforts at both the federal and provincial levels that involve all Canadians.

Critics of this coalition's efforts include the Sierra Club which took issue with the fact that one third of the Task Force represents the fossil fuel industry. The implication there being that they would be inclined to make any regulations less stringent or oppose any measures at making real changes.

While one third of this Task Force may well be from the fossil fuel industry, one can't ignore that this is a big industry that must come to the table in talks to reduce green house gas emissions. Of course all of the business leaders on the Task Force will have their own bottom lines in focus while moving forward, not just the fossil fuel industry. What should be taken away from this coalition is that these big businesses realize what is at stake. Although they are contributing to the GHG problem, they are taking a leading, voluntary role in shaping the future of mitigating climate change.

Via GlobeNet via The World Business Council for Sustainable Development