Even for those of you who know of GE’s (aka. General Electric’s) stance on innovation in the sustainability space might not realize how long ago they staked their claim. Over six years ago GE introduced the, initially derided, concept of ‘Ecomagination;’ a program that would lie at the heart of GE’s efforts to build a profitable business out of eco-friendly, green, and sustainable business-to-business solutions. What they were betting on, at that time, was that they could parlay their broader B2B success into the establishment of a wholly new and profitable sector.

As CEO Jeff Immelt said at when announcing the program, GE wanted, “to develop tomorrow’s solutions such as solar energy, hybrid locomotives, fuel cells, lower-emission aircraft engines, lighter and stronger durable materials, efficient lighting, and water purification technology”. And they did. For example, GE Energy’s renewable energy business expanded greatly to keep up with growingU.S.and global demand for clean energy. In particular, GE’s renewable energy initiatives, including solar power, wind power and gas engines using renewable and non-renewable methane-based gases, employ more than 4,900 people globally and have created more than 10,000 supporting jobs. By all counts, they have used this platform to transform not only this sector but to also significantly influence profitable changes in their other lines of business.

Certainly this runs at counterpoint to GE’s history of some of its activities giving rise to large-scale air and water pollution. In fact in 2000, according to a study by the Political Economy Research Institute, GE was the fourth largest air polluter in theUSA. However, their ongoing efforts to transform the sustainability marketplace through applied innovation should not be held hostage to past action. In some measure they may serve to redress those past transgressions.

Perhaps the most interesting tangent arising out of GE’s Ecomagination program is their recognition of the value of the vast amount of data that is available to them given their size. By making that data visible, accessible, and useful, GE (in partnership with GOOD and Deeplocal) can also begin to influence behavior beyond the scope of its own products and services. In one of their data visualization applications they successfully present data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, and the Natural Resources Defense Council in order to demonstrate the beneficial and detrimental impacts of renewable energy sources. With this kind of information in hand they can educate and foster the kind of dialogue necessary to change attitudes necessary to creating a more sustainable future for all.