The 2008 Greentech Market Taxonomy

It is fair to say that green technology has moved beyond composting. Driven by the facts of global climate change, rising energy demand and shrinking fossil-fuel reserves, green technology has developed into a significant growth market. In 2006, green-technology companies received $3.9 billion in venture-capital investment and generated $55 billion in revenue. The year also was successful for firm exits, with green-technology companies raising $4.9 billion in IPOs -- nearly doubling 2005's record total -- and completing nearly 450 M&As. Behind this record-breaking market expansion are a widening array of technologies, processes, applications and services that are helping consumers, businesses, utilities and governments create a clean and sustainable world.

Green technology is a necessary solution to a complex problem -- generating economic growth without sacrificing the environment. Specifically, green technology is anything that seeks the efficient use of natural resources to limit or negate environmental impact while reducing costs and raising revenues, profits and value. It generates positive social, environmental and economic externalities across the entire product life cycle with innovative crossover technologies, processes, applications and services. This system constitutes a market in the broadest possible sense: The demand for a better quality of life and a healthier environment is met by a supply of innovation and capital that cuts across the industrial and knowledge economies.

Keeping track of the growing number of players and technologies is a major business challenge for green technology. The market has moved past power generation, branching out into sectors that affect nearly every aspect of modern life. Dressing, driving and eating are a few, and the list goes on. Who these technologies affect and the level at which they operate are becoming increasingly important questions for investors and entrepreneurs alike. Understanding the value of green technology requires one to understand the composition of the market.

This taxonomy represents Greentech Media's belief that green technology is understandable in an intuitive way. We have organized the green-technology market to reflect how the end user might interact with the variety of technologies, processes, applications and services flowing into the field. In the green-services sector, for instance, a homeowner might take advantage of retail PV outlets and systems integrators, while a demand-response program might make more sense for a mall or grocery store. By organizing the market in this way, and then by discussing each aspect of the market in depth, we have added a level of accessibility to the green-technology market where none previously existed. The companies we decided to include here were selected largely on the maturity of the technology. In some areas, only a handful of companies operate. In other areas, such as solar or wind, we have selected a mix of established producers and promising start ups. The company lists are not exhaustive, as new companies are entering the market almost every day.

An important aspect of the Greentech Media Taxonomy is the level of interaction we hope it will engender. The green-technology community is incredibly diverse, spanning science, business, government and you -- the end user. Though the initial taxonomy is intended as a top-down framework to structure the market, it is our hope that it will evolve with your input, criticism and comments. Our goal is to have this taxonomy develop into a folksonomy, driven as much by your knowledge as that of our analysts. We admit that the Greentech Media Taxonomy is far from complete. Instead, it is a starting point from which we plan to develop a reference point for the entire green-technology community.