Mar 16 2009
Like many start-up executives, Yeves Perez, CEO of EINI, Inc., is worried. Many are concerned about laying off workers, canceling projects, or losing investors. Perez, however, has a broader question bothering him: who’s leading the way towards a revitalized, healthy, green economy?
“I know a ‘leadership deficit’ has partially contributed to the current economic crisis,” says Perez. “But I also know that disruptive leaders are out there; I work with them every day! If those leaders’ ideas are going to transform the economy, though, they must be able to establish their qualifications immediately with investors and consumers. Potential stakeholders shouldn’t have to simply trust that a business person understands the opportunities present in challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, and biodiversity loss.”
Perez has a solution for this credibility gap: EINI’s Eco Investment Club (EIC) has announced its new ClimateChanger™ leadership designation. This title singles out those business people who have demonstrated an eagerness, knowledge, and creativity to reduce carbon emissions in their industry of practice.
“A ClimateChanger™ is an influential business or investment professional who leads in creating a green corporate culture, reducing carbon emissions, and constantly improving the return on investment for going green”, says Robert Noble, Chairman of the Board for EINI, and the first CEO to receive the designation. An accomplished architect, designer, author, and environmental technology entrepreneur, Noble observes “Accomplished Greenie’ or ‘Treehugger’ doesn’t really say much; ‘ClimateChanger™,’ though, signifies ‘influencer’ to me. So, now when I list my leadership credentials, I can add ‘ClimateChanger™’ to the list… and that just sounds really cool!”
Following in the footsteps of the highly-regarded LEED™ AP designation for building professionals, EIC will award ClimateChanger™ (CC) status to business leaders and investors who have embraced sustainability through acquiring knowledge, and successfully implementing an action plan. Currently, EIC has approved two programs that will satisfy the educational component of the designation. The first, “Climate Change and Business - The ROI for Going Green,” is a two-day executive education course offered by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Rady School of Management. The second, the “Eco Investors Bootcamp,” is a four-day intensive course that includes classroom instruction and onsite visits to green companies. Perez notes that “Upon completion of ClimateChanger™ requirements, recipients will possess a tangible, marketable, and recognized credential based upon high-quality professional education, and demonstrable business implementation.”