Ecoimagination

We just came across an interesting column in last weekend's San Francisco Chronicle on General Electric's Ecoimagination Homebuilder Program. The column, written by Carol Lloyd, lauds GE's efforts to "make energy efficiency and green technology into national standards" while also reminding readers of some of GE's past environmental sins (e.g. poisoning the Hudson River).

The Ecoimagination initiative is nothing too new; but, the homebuilder program was only announced back in May of this year. According to GE's own site, the program "is a groundbreaking effort to provide comfortable, efficient homes that save homeowners' energy costs while easing the impact on the environment."

Homes built according to the program's specifications will provide at least a 20% saving in household energy, water consumption and emissions versus an industry-accepted average new home and will provide significantly more energy efficiency than the minimum levels required for ENERGY STAR® qualified homes.

Sounds good. But is it all just marketing? Treehugger offered a balanced look at the general Ecoimagination program earlier this year -- applauding the company's efforts but refusing to consider GE green until they sell off their nuclear division or admit to it on their product list. And the SF Chronicle article notes that a 20% reduction of energy use isn't all that ambitious.

It's an interesting situation: Despite the criticisms, if we narrow our focus on the homebuilding program's potential, in some respects, it looks quite promising. GE has partnered with Masco, one of the world's largest manufacturers and installers of building materials in the world. That means that the homebuilder program would be able to offer green building solutions to huge residential builders -- a big step towards mainstream green building.

But what about GE's rep? And what about the limitations of the program? According to the SF Chronicle, they've spent $90 million on environmentally themed advertising. Is it working?

What are your thoughts?