Whenever I hear people make predictions, I think about all the predictions of the past—many from well-known leaders in business and industry—that can now be viewed only as comical. For instance:
- Thomas Watson, probably the most famous chair of IBM, said in 1943, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
- Then there was the comment made in the 1920s by David Sarnoff, who later became head of RCA and NBC: "The wireless music box [referring to radios] has no imaginable commercial value.”
- And Irving Fisher, professor of economics, Yale University, made one of the most famous economic predictions of all in early 1929 when he said: "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
With all of that said, here are five of my sustainability predictions for 2011:
- The U.S. sustainable business market—referring to the development, manufacture, and sale of products that help us to conserve fuel, electricity, water, and natural resources and to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases—will increase dramatically in 2011, making the past two years look like “baby steps.”
- Most major U.S. companies in 2011 will have a “chief sustainability officer.” This person’s job will be to not only help the company use natural resources more responsibly but also help reduce costs because operating a business in a more sustainable manner will be recognized as a cost-saving strategy.
- Sustainability will become the key driver of product innovation in 2011 because it will help lower business operating costs, improve revenues, and meet new government regulations.
- A new generation of U.S. entrepreneurial “stars” will emerge in 2011 that have become famous not for working with computers or social media but for developing technologies that help us operate our homes and businesses in a more sustainable manner.
- Many homes and offices now have centralized “dashboard” systems to regulate heat, air-conditioning, lights, and security. In 2011 a new component will be added to measure the amount of fuel, water, and other resources used.
