Seeing green at Treasury
Is a staunch environmentalist poised to infiltrate Bush's Cabinet?
By Amanda Griscom Little
Read more: Opinion
Henry Paulson
June 2, 2006 | 
Many green leaders joined the Washington establishment and Big Business this week in applauding President Bush's nomination of Henry "Hank" Paulson -- Wall Street titan and heavyweight conservationist -- to replace outgoing Treasury Secretary John Snow and spearhead the administration's economic policy making. But while Paulson proved popular in many circles, a handful of right-wing groups bristled at the pick, claiming that Paulson's pro-environment views were too radical.
Much vaunted as chair of the investment firm Goldman Sachs since 1999, Paulson is less known for his role at the Nature Conservancy, the world's largest conservation organization. He joined the group's board of directors in 2001 and now serves as board chair. TNC president and CEO Steve McCormick hails Paulson as "a voice for environmental issues at the highest levels of business and government. His mark on the Conservancy is indelible. He has helped us think big -- very big -- about our conservation ambitions."
Paulson believes environmental health and financial well-being are inextricably linked. "The environment and the economy have been totally misconstrued as incompatible," he told Muckraker in an interview earlier this year. "They are opposite sides of the same coin -- you can't consider one without the other."
He's put this view into action at Goldman Sachs. Under Paulson's leadership, the firm has ramped up its investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, including solar, wind and biofuels. "We've made well over a billion in [clean technology] investments," he said. "We're not making those investments to lose money."
In 2004, under Paulson's watch, Goldman donated 680,000 acres of wilderness in southern Chile to the Wildlife Conservation Society, to the consternation of a few shareholders.
Paulson also worked with environmental groups including the World Resources Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council to develop a comprehensive environmental policy framework for Goldman Sachs, unveiled last November. "It's certainly one of the most far-reaching that has been developed among leading companies," said WRI senior associate Jon Sohn. He said the policy statement broke ground by essentially calling for mandatory government limits on greenhouse-gas emissions and by saying the company would encourage its clients to adhere to high environmental standards.
As Paulson told Muckraker, "I believe that the best, strongest, most efficient companies are going to have the best environmental practices. It is axiomatic." He also asserted that companies with good green reputations have a competitive edge in luring top talent: "I believe our forward-looking environmental policy makes us more attractive to younger recruits."
On a personal level, Paulson is known to have a strong affinity for nature. Raised on a farm in Illinois, he wanted to be a forest ranger until he went to college, according to Fortune. "I've seen him many times in the out-of-doors and he can't get enough of it," McCormick said. "He's an insatiable bird watcher, but also incredibly curious about the natural world in general. It's infectious." McCormick recalled a trip he and Paulson took to China, where they were surveying some wilderness in the Yunnan Province. "The road was washed out, our vehicle couldn't go any further, and most of us wanted to turn around. But Hank jumped out and started putting the road back together by hand -- brick by brick -- until eventually a backup vehicle came along and rebuilt the passage. He can't be stopped."
Paulson also gives big to green causes. He and his wife, Wendy, a former TNC board member who leads bird walks in New York City's Central Park, this spring donated $100 million of their Goldman stock to an environmentally focused family foundation. In the 2002 and 2004 election cycles, they donated $608,000 to the League of Conservation Voters, which works to elect candidates with strong environmental records, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Paulson's remaining net worth is estimated at more than $700 million, and according to the New York Times, he's privately expressed plans to give that wealth away.
