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GE - Immelt is pledging to double GE's research-and-development investments in eco-friendlier technologies from $700 million in 2004 to $1.5 billion in 2010. That's more than 10 times the 2005 federal R∓mp;D budget for solar and wind combined, and equivalent to the total amount of current annual venture-capital investment in clean-technology development in the U.S., according to Joel Makower, founder of GreenBiz.com. And Immelt aims to double revenues from cleaner technologies in the next five years -- from $10 billion in 2004 to at least $20 billion in 2010.

The goals were developed in partnership with the World Resources Institute, a green think tank, whose president, Jonathan Lash, chaired President Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development. The GE initiative "is enough to make even a gloomy environmentalist hopeful," Lash said at the launch event for "ecomagination," and went on to call Immelt "not only a visionary, but in the absence of coherent national policies ... encouraging energy efficiency and use of renewable energy, he is just plain gutsy."

The Hanover Principles were commissioned by the city of Hanover, Germany, as the general principles of sustainability for the 2000 World's Fair. McDonough and Braungert believe these general principles should be adopted by planners, designers, and governmental officials all over the world that are involved in any planning efforts.

1. Insist on the right of humanity and nature to co-exist in a healthy, supportive, diverse, and sustainable condition.

2. Recognize interdependence. The elements of human design interact with and depend upon the natural world with broad and diverse implications at every scale. Expand design considerations to recognizing even distant effects.

3. Respect relationships between spirit and matter. Consider all aspects of human settlement, including community, dwelling, industry, and trade, in terms of existing and evolving connections between spiritual and material consciousness.

4. Accept responsibility for the consequences of design decisions upon human well-being, the viability of natural systems, and their right to co-exist.

5. Create safe objects of long-term value. Do not burden future generations with requirements for maintenance of vigilant administration of potential danger due to the careless creation of products, processes, or standards.

6. Eliminate the concept of waste. Evaluate and optimize the full life cycle of products and processes to approach the state of natural systems, in which there is no waste.

7. Rely on natural energy flows. Human designs should, like the living world, derive their creative force from perpetual solar income. Incorporate the energy efficiently and safely for responsible use.

8. Understand the limitations of design. No human creation lasts forever, and design does not solve all problems. Those who create and plan should practice humility in the face of nature. Treat nature as a model and mentor, not an inconvenience to be evaded or controlled.

9. Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge. Encourage direct and open communication between colleagues, patrons, manufacturers, and users to link long-term sustainable consideration with ethical responsibility and re-establish the integral relationship between natural processes and human activity.