GE (GE) started its ecomagination operation which sells environmental products and services about two years ago. The company now says that the unit will have $20 billion in sales by 2010. That is up from $12 billion last year.

The backlog of orders for for products like wind turbines, aircraft engines and energy conservation technology now stands at $50 billion.

GE got into these business for profit, but it is social trends that have improved its ability to turn them into highly successful enterprises. Global warming and high-price energy are driving a wave of customers to the new GE business lines.

GE’s CEO told Reuters about the company’s motives: "Work on energy efficiency, working on emissions reductions, conservation, clean water is simply good business. In our case, it has always been about growing the company." Improving the environment is great, as long as their is money to be made.

GE’s "greening" could not come at a better time. Concerns about slow growth in some of the companies units and the overly broad diversity of a company that sells both jet engines and movies have kept the company’s stock flat for the last two years while the S&P is up over 25%.

How odd that a trend toward a more environmentally friendly world might pull one of America’s oldest industrial companies out of the mud.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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