Lean and Green still makes sense

Will the current financial challenges mean that "green" goes out the window? This article from the Financial Times - Staying on Course in a Tougher Climate - says "No"; companies will not abandon their previous course. Consider these quotes from the article:

• ”Our goal is still to be one of the world's leading brands in corporate sustainability and we regard it as central to business strategy,” says Francis Sullivan, deputy head of corporate sustainability at HSBC.
  
• “[We] continue to move forward with our environmental initiative to address climate change,” [Bank of America] says. “Now, more than ever, there is a critical need for financing to develop environmentally sustainable products and technologies, accelerate the deployment of existing technologies, and increase energy efficiency.”
  
• “Sustainability will remain critical to our business, even during an economic downturn,” says Ian Cheshire, group chief executive at Kingfisher. “As a major international retailer, we have a responsibility to tackle issues such as climate change and work towards a more sustainable future.”
  
• “How would it look,” [an advisor on green strategies] asks. “If companies drop [their interest in green issues], everyone will understand that they didn't mean it after all. What will that do to their relationship with their customers – or with their staff?”
  
• “Seven out of 10 people think that in tough economic times it is more important for a company to behave responsibly,” [a polling company] says. “The onus is very much on companies to continue to behave responsibly in line with consumer expectations. That pressure is not going away.”
  

I also think it's a terrific opportunity for the US to be a model for the rest of the world. If we abandon sustainability during a time of economic distress, we communicate that it's OK for other countries to do so, and perhaps by extension for developing countries to postpone their green behavior until they are "caught up" economically. But if we stay the course, we communicate that we really do operate from deeper values than "carnivorous capitalism." Which do we want?