The wizards of ozone

How do you know when environmentalism has really gone mainstream? When the leaders of some of the nation's dirtiest industries -- auto, oil, power and coal -- start playing the green card.
Take the oil industry. Giants like ConocoPhillips, Shell and BP America just did what was once unthinkable: they joined calls for federal legislation requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
NRDC president Frances Beinecke says when a giant like Wal-Mart embraces climate-friendly practices, the impact on other businesses is significant.

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David Hawkins, climate center director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, first noticed a change in corporate America's attitude toward the environment about two years ago. He attributes it to the intense pressures -- public, regulatory, and competitive -- on companies to go green.
But credit for the new mindset also goes to the NRDC.

Since its founding in 1970 by John Adams, the NRDC has evolved from what was essentially a small environmental law firm into one of the country's biggest advocates for new state, federal and foreign policies and laws aimed at weaning consumers worldwide off their oil dependence -- and combating global warming.
"They are a tremendous influence" on the environmental movement, says Andrew Ruben, vice president of strategy and sustainability at Wal-Mart, which is working with the NRDC on a variety of eco-friendly initiatives. "The staff has an incredible knowledge base and they help us understand where the opportunities and better solutions exist."
Today the NRDC has more than 1.3 million supporters, a nearly fourfold increase since 2000, and an annual budget of about $70 million, mostly derived from membership fees and private contributions. With 300 employees, the agency's reach is global: it recently opened an office in China, one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
Despite its size, the NRDC certainly has its planet-saving work cut out for it. The good news is, companies increasingly turn to the agency for advice on climate-friendly policies and the prospect of future regulation.