What'll it take to be 'green?'.

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: Editor's page - Editorial

We've known it's not easy being green since 1970, when the song Being Green was first sung by the popular Sesame Street TV show character Kermit the Frog, who shared with millions of children his tale of woe. While originally written to describe the frog's struggles to blend in, the "green" part has been paraphrased and more recently picked up by some in the environmentally-friendly camp. It's a good line to bring attention to the plight of companies trying to "do the right thing" and the encouragement for corporations and governments to spend big--often with U.S. tax dollars via credits and incentives--to make it inevitable that we all go green.

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So, in keeping with the trend, we bring to you the first "green" issue of Financial Executive. Each feature article identifies with sustainability, "green-ness" and other areas related to environmentally-friendly businesses and practices. Regardless of the politics and one's beliefs, wherever your company stands in the process, you may be ultimately brought into it--albeit kicking and screaming and writing big checks--through legislation and regulation. Conversely, once businesses see green as a result of their efforts, they will be more inclined to adopt programs, minus the kicking and screaming.

Thus, to help members and readers prepare for what could be inevitable--and also just good business--we offer for starters, our cover story, "Corporate 'Greening:' While Good for the Soul, is it Good for the Bottom Line?," by freelance writer Scott Ladd, which reviews some current findings and provides an overview of practices that make sense (not to mention dollars) for user-companies.

We also have features on options for clean energy use (it starts by understanding how much you use); Web-based investor communications (the pros and cons, which includes more control over the...