What should you do if you want companies to go green?

Demand it, of course.

It’s a strategy that makes perfect sense, given that companies themselves say consumers are the biggest drivers of the sustainability changes they’re willing to make. In a recent study conducted by Ernst & Young and reported on by Mary Hunt at In Women We Trust, executives from the finance, consumer goods and manufacturing industries acknowledged that consumer demand was a far greener “carrot” than environmental regulation, legislation, or competition, among other factors.

Readers of Big Green Purse won’t be surprised. Our mantra is all about ways you can make your money matter to protect yourself and the planet. But it’s great when the very targets of our spending decisions acknowledge how much power we really have!