Will big business save the earth? Some of the companies that people love to hate are actually among the world's strongest forces for protecting the environment.

• Author: Diamond, Jared
• Position: OPINION

There's a widespread view, particularly among environmentalists, that big businesses are environmentally destructive, greedy, evil, and driven by short-term profits. I know--because I used to share that view.

But I've learned that it doesn't apply to all businesses. Over the years, I've joined the boards of two environmental groups--the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International--serving alongside many business executives. I've been asked to assess the environments in oil fields and have spoken with oil-company employees at "all levels. I've also worked with executives of mining, retail, and logging companies. I've discovered that while some businesses are indeed as destructive as many suspect, others are among the world's strongest positive forces for environmental sustainability--making sure our planet remains livable and that natural resources don't run out.

Businesses are increasingly concerned about the environment for several reasons. Lower consumption of natural resources saves money in the short run, while keeping resource levels sustainable and not polluting saves money in the long run. And a clean image--from avoiding environmental disasters like oil spills--reduces criticism from employees, consumers, and government.

Here are a few examples involving three corporations--Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, and Chevron--that many critics of business love to hate, in my opinion, unjustly.

SAVING ENERGY & WATER

Let's start with Wal-Mart, which cut fuel costs by $26 million simply by changing the way it manages its enormous truck fleet. Instead of running a truck's engine all night to heat or cool the cab during mandatory 10-hour rest stops, the company installed small auxiliary power units to do the job. This also eliminated carbon-dioxide emissions--a major cause of global warming--equivalent to taking 18,300 passenger vehicles off the road.

Wal-Mart is working to double the fuel efficiency of its truck fleet by 2015, which would save more than $200 million a year at the pump. The company is testing trucks that bum biofuels made from fryer grease used at its delis. It's also reducing its use of packaging materials and is recycling plastics.

Coca-Cola's challenges are largely long-term: The key ingredient in its products is water. But global climate change is making water scarcer; most water is used for agriculture, which presents sustainability problems of its own.

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So Coca-Cola's survival requires the company to be...