Friday, September 30, 2011

Nike Leads Green Innovation


Green Nike Logo

Nike cooperation, typically known for their shoes and athletic apparel, has recently opened up a new branch of operations called the Sustainable Business and Innovation Lab. This new venture capital effort will seek out companies focused on sustainable products, sustainable manufacturing and sustainable marketplaces. Additionally, the company hopes the Sustainable Business and Innovation lab will help cut production costs, begin a new generation of green-technology businesses, and foster a new system of cooperate integration called the closed loop business model. It is great to see a company like Nike open up this new branch. Since the investments will be focused on young companies that are environmentally geared, there is a high level of risk reward for Nike. It is estimated that thirty to forty percent of venture capital efforts like this one lose all or the majority of money they invested into the small businesses and seventy to eighty percent of the time investors do not get their projected rate of return. However, on the other side of the coin if the young businesses invested in create a new method of production or develop a new product, Nike has the potential to save millions of dollars. Nike is setting a great example for other companies to follow. Supporting green startup businesses is a great way to promote sustainable business. If other businesses follow Nike’s example, it is possible that a wider spread green revolution will come about in the business world very soon.

Link to Nike Sustainability: http://www.nikebiz.com/responsibility/

No comments:

Post a Comment