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CFOs looking toward 2010 anticipate positive increases in a number of areas. Key areas of expected increases include:

• Net earnings expected to rise by 22 percent (more than double anticipated Q3 mean increase of 11%)
• Revenue anticipated to grow by 10 percent
• Capital spending expected to grow by 8.9% (compared with an increase of 1.1% in Q3)
• Technology spending anticipated to increase by 6.1 percent
• Inventory anticipated to increase by 2.5 percent (compared with Q3, where CFOs predicted reductions of -1.9%)
• Hiring expected to grow by 2.9 percent (up from 1.7% in Q3)
• Price of products expected to grow by 1.13 percent (up from the Q3 projected increase of 0.7%)

When CFOs were asked this quarter to identify areas for increases in 2010, marketing and advertising and business acquisitions were also top of mind, with 39 percent of CFOs planning to increase marketing and advertising and 33 percent of CFOs planning increases in business acquisitions. In addition, while 37 percent of CFOs reported they will cutback on executive perks, a small number of respondents remain (4%) who plan to increase executive perks in the coming year.

Efficiency is the New Norm

"The return to a place where CFOs are anticipating increased earnings and revenue provides encouragement that those companies that have endured the downturn are ready to come back strong," said Marie Hollein, CEO and President, Financial Executives International. "As far as the new normal is concerned, efficiency is the name of the game."

When asked what their organizations would continue to do as they begin to emerge from the recession, nearly nine out of ten CFOs reported that they would continue process efficiencies put into place during the downturn.

Two-thirds (66%) said they will continue technological efficiencies, and one-third (34%) plan to continue the restructuring of their business.

CFOs Taking Steps to Be "Greener" but Debate Continues Over Regulation

As the global conversation on sustainability heats up, this quarter's survey examined what steps companies are taking to become more environmentally responsible, and why they may be taking them.

The most frequent "green" action among respondents' companies is

• reducing energy consumption in company facilities (48%).
  

This was followed by

• reducing waste in production and packaging (30%)
  

promoting incentives and initiatives encouraging customers to be "greener" (21%).

Least popular initiatives were reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from factories and plants (6%), and supporting legislation on environmental issues (7%).

Support of Environmental Legislation is Split

While few are actively supporting legislation on environmental issues, sentiment toward governmental regulation of environmental responsibility is split among CFOs.

49% believe regulation a bad response,

37% support government incentives to spur innovation,

14 percent support limits on emissions,

9 percent support cap and trade and other financial incentives.

Perhaps disappointingly, 28 percent of CFOs indicated that their companies are not taking any actions to make their companies more sustainable. With regard to those companies who are taking actions, the survey revealed a number of motivators. More than one-third cited cost efficiencies as the main driver, 31 percent refer to personal priorities of their leadership as the cause, 29 percent say enhancement of public perception is the reason, and 24 percent point to a desire to emerge as a committed leader in the industry.

Women always played important roles on the family farm. They kept the books, milked the cows and fed the children, often juggling another part-time job while the men worked the fields. Sometimes, they ran the farm after their husbands or fathers died.

But increasingly, women such as Stinar are turning to farming on their own. According to the 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture released this year, more than one in every 10 U.S. farms is run by a woman. In Maryland, the number of farms in which a woman is the principal operator jumped 16 percent between 2002 and 2007. In Virginia, female-run farms also grew by 16 percent. (Source: Washington Post)

A growing number of female-focused farming organizations have popped up in Vermont, Connecticut and Maine. In Pennsylvania, membership in the Women's Agricultural Network, which is affiliated with Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, grew from 100 members in 2005 to 1,000 in 2008.

While men tend to run larger farms focused on such commodity crops as soybeans and wheat, women tend to run smaller, more specialized enterprises selling heirloom tomatoes and grass-fed beef to well-heeled, eco-conscious consumers. These smaller enterprises have gotten a boost from the popularity of farmers markets and programs in which people pay in advance to receive weekly produce baskets, as well as renewed consumer interest in buying locally.

Programs designed for small farms and urban farms include programs such as The Farm to Plate (F2P) Initiative.  They  direct the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, working in collaboration with the Sustainable Agriculture Council and other stakeholder groups, to develop a 10-year strategic plan to strengthen Vermont's farm and food sector.

Here are a few of the women's agriculture resources scattered across the US:

California farming organizations for women include:
California Women for Agriculture
www.cawomen4ag.com/

California Women for Agriculture Salinas Valley
Serving Monterey County regarding agricultural issues in the state and county, and helping with agriculture education and scholarships.
www.salinascwa.org/

Women on U.S. Farms Research Initiative
http://agwomen.aers.psu.edu
These vivid maps and reports make it easier to interpret the ways that American women are involved in farming.

Women and Sustainable Agriculture: Interviews with 14 Agents of Change
By Anna Anderson, 2004, McFarland Publishers
Farmers, researchers, and farm advocates--all the women in this book have dedicated their lives to improving the American food system.

Herstory: Women in Organic Agriculture
Summer 2002 CCOF Newsletter of California's certified organic farmers
www.ccof.org/archives.php

Changing the Way America Farms: Knowledge and Community in the Sustainable Agriculture Movement
By Neva Hassanein, 1999, University of Nebraska Press
Focusing on Wisconsin, this book explores the function and importance of social networks in the sustainable agriculture movement.

MaryJanes Farm
100 Wild Iris Lane, Moscow, ID 83843
888-750-6004;
www.maryjanesfarm.org
Talk about enterprising: here's a stylish magazine that combines home, garden, and farm tips with a catalog of organic farm products.

Women in Winegrowing Calendar
811 Jefferson Street, Napa, CA 94559
707-944-8311, www.napagrowers.org
The Napa Valley Grapegrowers have created a calendar that features 21 community and sustainable farming leaders.

Vermont Women's Agricultural Network
617 Comstock Road, Suite 5
Berlin, VT 05602
802-223-2389
www.uvm.edu/wagn

Maine Women's Agricultural Network
University of Maine Co-op Extension
24 Main Street
Lisbon Falls, Maine 04252
207-353-5550 or 1-800-287-1458
www.umaine.edu/umext/wagn

Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network
Pennsylvania State University
302 Armsby Building
University Park, PA 16802
http://wagn.cas.psu.edu

North Carolina State University has been in the forefront of sustainable agriculture at U.S. colleges.
Nancy Creamer, PhD, is director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), a 2,000-acre farm near Goldsboro. The research farm is a joint project of NCSU, NC, A&T University, the NC Department of Agriculture, the NC Farm Stewardship Association, and other organizations, farmers, and citizens.

Kristin Reynolds is a research assistant at the University of California Small Farm Center and one of the writers of Outstanding in Their Fields: California's Women Farmers

ATTRA is funded through the USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service and is a project of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT),

Biomimicry Institute, Autodesk Announce World's First Database of Nature-Inspired Design Strategies

Imagine if buildings were as self-sufficient as living organisms: if they could gather water, filter air, and adapt to local climate conditions. Imagine if the natural world could teach us everything we need to know about sustainable, efficient design.

AskNature.org

Now for the first time, a new online database called AskNature.org will bring nature's best design ideas to design tables around the world. The new project, created by the Biomimicry Institute and sponsored by Autodesk, was announced on Nov. 21 at the Greenbuild 2008 conference in Boston.

AskNature.org is a free, public-domain online library of nature's best design ideas, organized by function and explained with illustrations and in language relevant to designers.

AskNature.org is a project of the Biomimicry Institute, founded by Janine Benyus, the renowned author of the book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. AskNature.org is collaborating with the Smithsonian Institute of Natural History and E.O. Wilson's Encyclopedia of Life as a source of data for the portal.

The portal explains in nontechnical language and enhanced with illustrations to explain how things work. The portal helps architects, designers, and engineers access and understand sustainable design concepts so they can use them in their own products and projects.

Biomimetic Information

Autodesk believes that biomimicry, as a design paradigm, can provide our customers with design intelligence to help them make smarter design decisions - whether they are designing a building, a train, a shoe or a city. Looking ahead, Autodesk's goal is to make biomimetic information accessible to a wide range of users globally. Autodesk product teams are investigating technology intersections, including those with the Autodesk® Seek web service, which has already made select biomimetic products available to designers.

Architects, designers and innovators can use this resource to study life's approaches to sustainable design--for example, how butterflies create pigment-free color, or how plants split water to release hydrogen.

"The core idea is that there is no need to reinvent the wheel. After 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature has already found the solutions to the sustainability challenges humans face," said Janine Benyus, founder of the non-profit Biomimicry Institute and author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.

AskNature.org--part search engine, part social network--is a place where biologists and innovators can meet, exchange information and design together.  The site also has a feature called "Thank a Genius," which encourages the investment of a portion of profits derived from bio-inspired innovations to go toward preserving the organisms and ecosystems that inspired the breakthrough.

AskNature.org is sponsored by Autodesk, a world leader in design innovation technology. With a user base of 9 million architects, designers and engineers around the world, Autodesk sees biomimicry as a revolutionary design concept that can help influence better design decisions.

A growing number of businesses are using biomimicry to solve their design challenges. As one example, the architectural firm HOK is planning a community development in India that seeks to mimic tree roots with its foundation structure, as a way to deal with soil stability problems. They are also designing roofs that shed water during monsoon season and also store water for use in the drought season--just like trees do in that environment. 

Biomimicry at Greenbuild 2008

Janine Benyus, along with renowned Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson  announce the launch of AskNature.org. on November 21, 2009.  Wilson's Encyclopedia of Life is integrated with the AskNature.org database.

For more information about the Biomimicry Institute: www.biomimicryinstitute.org.

For more information about Autodesk's role: www.autodesk.com/biomimicry

I hadn't herd a good solution to California's budget woes until today.  In an article by Ellen Brown, you get a very different picture than I've seen in the media.  Here' an excerpt that summarizes the infrastructure of the problem:

"Among the banks rejecting California's IOUs are six of particular interest: Citibank, Union Bank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and Westamerica Bank. These banks are interesting because they are six of the seven depository banks in which the state of California currently deposits its money. (The seventh is Bank of the West, which loyally said it would accept the IOUs indefinitely.)

...according to the California Treasurer's report, as of May 2009 the state had aggregate deposits and investments (in these banks) exceeding $55 billion.

And to add insult to injury, three of these six banks actually received federal bailout money from the taxpayers, something that was supposedly done to keep credit flowing to the states and their citizens. Citibank got $45 billion in bailout money, Wells Fargo got $25 billion, and Bank of America got $45 billion, not to mention guarantees of $300 billion for Citibank and $118 billion for Bank of America. When Governor Schwarzenegger asked for a loan guarantee for a mere $6 billion to bolster California's credit rating, on the other hand, he was turned down. Californians compose one-eighth of the nation's population.

When the state's appeal for aid was rejected by the banks, California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer said he was "disappointed."

He and other state leaders should show their disappointment with their feet. California could pull its deposits out of those depository banks refusing its IOUs and put them instead in its own state-owned bank, following the lead of North Dakota, which now has the only state-owned bank in the country.

Set up in 1919 to escape Wall Street predators, the Bank of North Dakota has been generating low-interest credit for the state and its residents for nearly a century. North Dakota is one of only two states (along with Montana) currently able to meet their budgets.

A state-owned bank could be fast-tracked into operation in a matter of weeks. With over $17 billion available to deposit in its own bank, California could create $170 billion or more in credit--enough not only to meet its budget shortfall but to fund many other much-needed projects; and rather than feeding an ungrateful Wall Street, the bank's profits would return to the state and its people.

---

Read the full article at YesMagazine.org -- an excellent online magazine!

Ellen Brown is an attorney and the author of eleven books, including Web of Debt: the Shocking Truth About Our Money System and How We Can Break Free. She can be reached through her website at www.webofdebt.com.

A new leadership group is poised to steer Silicon Valley into a "green-tech revolution" that could keep the valley from being displaced by other regions around the world.

Energy is the only field offering the same range of opportunities as information technology, say regional leaders.

The "Greenprint Project" goal is to develop a new, 21st-century energy system that would displace the oil-dependent economy and create a second Industrial Revolution that matches the impact of the massive social and economic shift of the mid-1800s.

Chris DiGiorgio of Accenture, Inc. and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, unveiled the Greenprint Project, described as a blueprint initiative to turn global climate change into a thriving local industry. The plan seeks ways to build a new infrastructure from the ground up.

The Bay Area initiative would

• attract or train talent to meet needs of the new industry
• retrain workers from industries that are contracting
• invent new energy technologies to replace the oil-dependent economy
• build a support system for improved housing, health care, education and ancillary services that will keep people coming to or staying in the Bay Area

Applied Materials is providing a $300,000 donation over the next two years to fund a "director of climate prosperity" position for the Greenprint project.

Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture, which is the initiative coordinator, sounded a warning that the national economic woes have begun to impact the valley, which had been relatively insulated from the worst effects. More bad economic news should be expected throughout the year as companies continue to contract.

Implementing a regional infrastructure that includes building a network of charging stations and retrofitting the 90% of existing homes and offices with energy-efficient technologies -- will allow the new energy products to be applied at home and position the suppliers for broader market growth. Venture capital investment in clean technology in Silicon Valley increased 94 percent in 2008 to boost new companies and new industry sectors.

But investment isn't limited to new companies. Firms such as Cypress Semiconductor, Applied Materials and PG&E are investing in the growing solar and smart-metering and plug-in markets.

Communities are entering the green regional initiative, as well. San Jose's "green vision" aims to show the world how energy efficiency and the new clean technologies can stimulate the economy and bring financial returns. Within 15 years, San Jose plans to create 25,000 clean-tech jobs and reduce per capita energy use by 50%. The city wants to build or retrofit 50 million square feet of green buildings and ensure that 100% of its public fleet will run on alternative fuels. All of San Jose's electrical power is expected to come from clean renewable resources

The regional collaboration hopes to encompass business, government, academia, labor and community organizations. The green economy isn't a shoo-in for American leadership in the global marketplace.

Fareed Zakaria, international editor at Newsweek, said Silicon Valley must bolster its social and support network if it hopes to remain a global player. Zakaria said everywhere he has gone in the world -- in China, Korea and Singapore -- he saw America slipping from having the biggest or best, from Ferris wheels and shopping malls to gambling centers. To stay ahead on the new global racetrack, Silicon Valley will have to get away from the prevailing belief that has swayed the country since 1979: that America has a unique place in the global economy.

Silicon Valley must be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the federal stimulus package and other energy policies by improving a flagging social network exhibited by career opportunities and home ownership. "Home ownership is elusive for many and has squeezed the middle class into an "hour-glass" demographic of the rich and the poor, with only a small percentage in the middle. Only 29% of residents can afford a median-priced home in Silicon Valley, compared with 45% statewide, Hancock said.

Community infrastructure attracts workers to an area -- affordable housing, good education, adult-worker retraining and affordable health care. The best and brightest will flock to whichever countries offers a better way of life.

To be successful, Silicon Valley can't invent the infrastructure in a vacuum -- it will take large infusions of cash and policy support from a well-managed government to achieve dominance in the new world order, Zakaria warned.

"Imagine 100 years from now. Imagine the irony that would strike (analysts). We've gone around telling people to 'open yourselves up ... to the American way of life.' America has managed to fulfill its great historical mission. It globalized the world; it just forgot to globalize itself," he said.

California is at the forefront of green innovation investment and jobs. New data presented in the 2009 California Green Innovation Index shows that while total jobs increased by just ONE PERCENT statewide, green jobs have increased by TEN PERCENT since 2005.

Clean technology investment in California nearly doubled in 2008, reaching $3.3 billion. California is a national leader in solar, wind and battery patents. Still, more needs to be done in terms of both creation and adoption of new clean technology products and services to give California the leading edge in what is fast becoming a multibillion-dollar global clean technology market.

The California Green Innovation Index tracks California's effort to grow the economy while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions as mandated by the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).

Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32) was signed into California law in 2006, mandating the first ever statewide cap on global warming pollution.  AB 32 has put California at the forefront of the fight against global warming by requiring the state to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. On December 11, 2008, the agency charged with the
implementation of AB 32, California Air Resources Board, adopted the Scoping Plan that lays out the actions California must take to meet the GHG emissions reduction targets.

Research included in this 2009 Green Innovation Index provides further evidence of the powerful economic stimulus clean energy policy can provide.

California's energy productivity, that is, the amount of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) produced per unit of energy, is 68% more productive than the rest of the nation.

Energy efficiency policies forged by California over the last 35 years have saved consumers over $56 billion, creating 1.5 million full-time jobs and $45 billion in payroll.

CALIFORNIA GREEN INNOVATION INDEX (2009)
The California Green Innovation Index provides insight on a California culture that includes three decades of ambitious state environmental and energy policies, putting California on a path to energy independence and one of the lowest per capita carbon footprints in the nation, all the while growing one of the most vigorous economies in the world. Download a copy of the report at Collaborative Economics.

Collaborative Economics, Inc.
785 Castro Street, Suite A
Mountain View, CA 94041
650.404.8120
www.coecon.com

What does a "greener" project manager bring to their job?

Answer:  a greener mix of knowledge, skills and market relationships.

Green Project Management Knowledge

Every project starts with a plan that meets a company's needs.  Green "needs" include compliance guidelines, market appeal and green operations for savings and environmental benefits.

Compliance reduces risks from governmental fines and fees as well as on-the-ground environmental damage that affects your employees' overall well-being and conservation of natural resources such as water, air quality, and increasingly scarce natural materials.

Market appeal is a must!  If a project manager keeps the customer's interests at the heart of choices such as cost control, non-toxic materials, and a take back program -- the market for greener, healthier, more cost effective operations will reward your reputation and your bottom line sales.

Green operations  provide diverse benefits to a company.  A healthy, green workplace provides productivity with proper lighting, fresh air free of toxins, proper ventilation and respect for employee and client well being.   Greening the facilities also involves reducing energy use to save money, conserve water to save money, reduce use of raw materials which saves money, and maximize use of natural systems to reduce expensive equipment -- for example, natural light vs. electric lighting, or well functioning windows for ventilation vs. a large HVAC system.  

Green Project Management Skills
Knowing HOW to implement those potential beneifts is a large part of what the project manage expected to deliver.  Here are some project management skills that are effective and highly respectful of sustainable methodologies:

• Measurement  of key metrics
• Monitor progress and graph it for good communications
• Identify key equipment and supply sources
• Train team to adhere to compliance and market driven goals
• Emphasize most important processes and remove excesses
• Measure effectiveness
• Support creativity by team members

Green Project Management Market Relationships

Knowing WHO to put on your team -- both internally and externally -- is critical in our globalized, outsourced world.  More often than not, project managers are part of a mixed team of staff and contractors. 

• Knowing which suppliers are GREEN is a bonus. 
• Knowing how to put GREEN specifications into RFPs sets the stage for success.
• Knowing how to orient vendors to GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN processes pays off many times over.
• Supporting innovators in renewable energy, energy efficiency and water conservation benefits you with adaptive solutions and a competitive edge with early market advantages.

Businesses thrive with good networking -- connecting productively with key resources that are the best match for your company's strategy.  Creating a green supply chain contact list is as good as gold in the bank for a green project manager!   Before you can implement green solutions you need to source the strategies and build a positive working relationship with your partnering supply chain members.

GREEN project management is about creating a web of knowledge about effective use of  resources, sources of quality green goods and services , and the proper use of those resources on the job. 

Being able to measure and communicate sustainable results is part of your career development process -- always in need of polishing and growing!  

What kind of people do traditional environmental firms and agencies need? The answer comes from The Environmental Careers Organization of Canada, which reports that the "top ten green jobs" up north are:

• Environmental engineer
• Environmental technologist
• Conservation biologist
• Geographic Information System (GIS) analyst
• Air-quality specialists
• Environmental communication officers
• Stewardship coordinator
• Environmental specialist
• Research coordinator
• Environmental coordinator

Read more at