GE Ecomagination Equals Dollars

Lumbering conglomerate General Electric might have critics pressing it to sell off pieces and boost its stock, but it’s eco products are bringing in pretty significant revenues according to the New York Times. The article focuses on a kindler, gentler GE era led by CEO Jeffrey Immelt, with its environmental project “Ecomagination” as one of his shining lights in an otherwise tepid past few years.

At least both Immelt and Lorraine Bolsinger, head of the Ecomagination project, are willing to keep it real on the motivation behind the eco move:

“Mr. Immelt and Ms Bolsinger say the point of Ecomagination isn’t to save the planet but to make money.” — New York Times

At last count, the 45 odd products that fall under the Ecomagination category — like cleaner coal and compact fluorescent lighting — brought in close to $12 billion in sales in 2006 and the ‘2006 Ecomagination report’ says the project is set to reach its goal of $20 billion by 2010.

That includes annual sales of more than $4 billion from the wind energy unit that GE acquired from Enron in 2001, says the New York Times. When GE bought the unit, the company was making $500 million a year, and now its wind turbines are sold out through 2009.