Whether or not you are a "believer" in climate change, green branding and business opportunities are here to stay

During my formative business years, green was hardly the hippest of colours. To be described as green was pejorative; you were either wet behind the ears, or envious of others and not to be trusted. As a newly qualified driver, I can even remember my father warning me off buying a green car because of its connotations with bad luck. Green was mould, it was unceremoniously ripped out of middle-class bathrooms, it was a one-policy party.

So, having spent a lifetime avoiding all matters green, it is a surprise to find that it is the new black, a universal, secular religion. In business terms, green is already mightier than the silicon chip, more powerful than the anti-nuclear lobby, and hipper than the fashion industry. If you'd drifted into a deep sleep a couple of years ago you'd awake today to a brave new low carbon world where most ink and paper is seemingly used for the acres of print and policies dedicated to reducing carbon-footprints and global warming. If Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street had been given the prescience to realise that it was "green" rather than "greed" which is good, the credits would never have rolled. Carbon is now a currency.

As with all perceived wisdoms, there is a burgeoning political head of steam powering this new debate, carbon neutral this time, of course. Al Gore has metamorphosed into the apocalypse slayer, and even the true-blue Tory party has taken on sustainable hues in chameleon-like fashion. There are modern day Galileos who dare to suggest that the rest of us might be over-reacting, and who are pilloried for their alternative opinions. I've heard Melanie Phillips of the Daily Mail, Jeremy Clarkson and the head of NASA all argue that the science supporting human-induced climate change may be flawed. Perhaps farting cows are to blame; which of us really knows for sure?

Fortunately, we've all survived other "perceived wisdoms"—that dieting is good for you, or that civil servants should run telecoms companies. Such ideas come and go, but our job remains unchanged; to sail our businesses to prosperous lands no matter what the prevailing winds. As directors with responsibilities to worry about, many of us have come to realise that we're not qualified to be sure about any number of important issues. This one is no different. Seeing the world in black and white terms leads down a cul de sac. Being aware and open-minded is the road to prosperity.

So the good news is that whether or not you believe the science and hype is largely irrelevant. An unquestionable green glow now colours every aspect of business life in ways unimaginable a few years ago. Standard GLS bulbs have been outlawed in Australia, organics are seriously of the moment, and, in the locks business, the fastest emerging market is that for rubbish bins—go figure. Of course, these seismic market changes bring the usual certainties; a blancmange of new quangos, a wardrobe of regulation straitjackets, and a more retentive nanny state. But they also bring wave upon wave of business opportunities.

You can make a pile out of rubbish. You can cut your energy bills substantially with just a little attention. Pareto's 80:20 solution is to upgrade your building insulation; to switch off completely your computers at night; and to turn down the office thermostat by a degree which, incidentally, is also likely to raise productivity—but that's another story. You can make your products and brand more attractive by thinking and acting green; just look at what M&S has been doing of late if you don't believe me. And exciting opportunities abound for new technological solutions from micro-wind power windmills to biofuels and grey water systems. Ethical and carbon-centric investment funds are awash with bio-laundered cash, and it may not be long before you're likely to face jail for burning rubbish in your garden.

The message is clear. If you are not socially responsible as a company, you must be socially irresponsible. It is time to wake up and smell the Fair Trade coffee.

Alex Pratt OBE is founder of seriousreaders.com and an adviser to the government on innovation and skills.