What's your carbon footprint?

I'm currently doing some consulting work that has me evaluating the viability of certain solutions that can assist corporations in becoming more "green". Among those is the much ballyhooed solution called "telepresence" that is being trumpeted by Cisco and HP. Both of these companies, duly noted, are both actively selling their solutions to companies willing to spend millions of dollars for super nice video conferencing capabilities.

Anyways, I have read a number of articles discussing green initiatives such as "carbon footprint" reduction. And the more I read the more I come to the following conclusions:

• Generally speaking, everyone supports and is behind green initiatives. It's a very popular talking point for progressive companies.
• Specifically speaking, very few companies make decisions with the environment as their principle concern. But when action that impacts the environment is taken it is primarily for issues pertaining to the bottom line such as cost reduction.

This leads me to believe that the free market not altruist ideas will drive the next rounds of environmental changes. Companies will issue less plane tickets and replace them with teleconferencing not because of their desire to see a greener planet but rather their desire to keep their jobs by maintaining a healthy bottom line. The fact that these kinds of "business driven" activities benefit the environment just allows companies one more arrow in their public relations quiver to help expound their high levels of corporate responsibility to the consumer.

I definitely don't begrudge capitalism, in fact I actively participate it. I also don't begrudge environmentalist, in fact I try to do my part to help out. I'm just glad to observe a situation like this were we see that both interests can be served.