The CGO, indefinitely, is what Apple needs to maintain Steve’s quest for a “Greener Apple” simply for the reason that one person can’t do everything. The smart thing to do is appoint someone with a strong, aggressive environmental background to assume the responsibility of Environmental leadership, and let them communicate with the shareholders as well as the media. It’s a specialized position with real authority that requires real insight. The ‘up and coming’ CGO’s are remarkably impressive as outlined in BusinessWeek’s ’05 article: “An interest in integrating business with the needs of the environment is prompting a harder look at achieving a sustainable economy”. Read more below:

Business schools are reacting, too. Many educators are staying on top of the trend by offering courses designed to make future business leaders more aware and responsible. "The people in business today who are trying to grapple with these issues have business degrees that didn't equip them to understand what's really going on," says Rick Bunch, executive director of the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, a school on Bainbridge Island in Washington that offers an MBA or a certificate in sustainable business.

The school, which graduated its first class in 2004, aims to integrate social and environmental issues into all facets of business education, from accounting to operations. Bainbridge students tend to be older, with a median age of 35, and to remain with their employers. They participate in classes on the island over specified weekends for two to three years. Tuition for two years is about $33,000. As an open-source institution, Bainbridge allows any educator access to its syllabi. "We can't graduate enough of our own people to fix the world," says Gifford Pinchot, chairman and co-founder of Bainbridge.

Some schools, such as The Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder, have taken Bainbridge up on its offer to get ideas on how to infuse sustainable business courses into more traditional MBA programs. Others are simply coming up with their own curriculum.

London Business School, for example, recently created a portfolio of five relevant courses, ranging from one that will deal with carbon-emissions management to another on social entrepreneurship. The courses will be offered in the next academic year, based on demand and interest. Reflecting Europe's longstanding interest in environmental issues, LBS has been requiring MBA and executive MBA students to take business ethics and corporate social responsibility classes for the last 10 years.

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jul2005/bs20050715_9296_bs001.htm