It’s a holiday weekend and I’m staying with my parents. I noticed they have a new washer and dryer — the kind that sings! The main advantage of the newest generation of appliances, however, is not their tunefulness. It’s energy savings.
According to this Washington Post article from February 2023, the current generation of washers and refrigerators cut energy usage by more than half:
“If automobiles were regulated to the same extent as household appliances, the average vehicle would be getting 60 miles per gallon and seat nine people,” says Pamela Klyn, an engineer and sustainability executive at Whirlpool (WHR).
Saving electricity should be good news to shareholders from both an ESG and a cost savings standpoint, but it rarely seems to make major financial news. Nor does energy usage make much of an appearance in consumer marketing and advertising. Except for explicitly green products like electric cars or camping equipment, retailers prefer to differentiate based on looks and gadgetry.
The same is often true in B2B. How many people even know that Microsoft’s (MSFT) Azure hosting solution has been carbon neutral since 2012? The assumption is that sustainability is an afterthought in purchasing decisions, not a differentiator.
As exciting as it is to have an LED panel plays a tune and has a separate mode for “Towels,” the real innovation is energy savings. Why keep the volume on low?
Lotus Rose is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or a broker/dealer. All investment and financial opinions expressed on Lotus Trader are from the personal research and experience of the owner of this newsletter and intended for educational and informational purposes only. Although every effort is made to ensure that all information is accurate and up-to-date, occasional unintentional errors may occur.