Is Saving the Earth Good Business for Tech?

Here's the second part of my Tech Ticker interview with Sophie Vandebroek of Xerox. We talk about why Xerox is investing so much in clean tech and save-the-planet-type stuff. Aren't they just a copier company? Is there a fiduciary duty to focus on that?

Maybe not. Copiers take up a lot of energy, and if companies ever really try to go paperless, shouldn't Xerox be one of the ones leading the way to sustain its revenues? That's something I would have liked to see from car makers and oil companies, before it was trendy. I don't own any stocks, since I'm a business reporter, and aside from mutual funds I never will. But if I did, I might consider buying Xerox for this reason alone.

Also, a bonus video with Russ Mitchell where we talk about whether Google's alternative energy efforts are also savvy business moves given its computing power needs. There's such a problem in today's public markets of thinking near-term, near-term, near-term. At first I thought projects like these were maybe self-indulgent, but increasingly I admire companies that think that broadly about environmental implications on their business and think that far down the road in general. Because if nothing is done, it will affect technology as an industry greatly.

Videos on the jump!
Enjoy!