A special thanks to our new team member at Innovationedge, Dave Labno, for sharing his thoughts today on the Fortune Brainstorm Green 2008 Conference that occurred last week in Pasadena, California —Cheryl

Fortune Brainstorm Green 2008 Conference
By Dave Labno, Guest blogger

Four hundred leading thinkers and doers in the world of business, science, government and NGOs joined together April 21-22 to showcase remarkable changes in world over the last few years.

Who would have imagined a successful partnership between Greenpeace and McDonalds? Dozens of similar partnerships and discussions took place. Disagreements still exist but a general sense of urgency and collaboration has emerged between previously distant groups.

Several leading CEO’s and environmental leaders told me this would not have happened even 3 years ago. A sea change has taken place and an exciting era of innovation and entrepreneurship in the world has begun.

There were too many great innovations to list but here is a sample:

According to P&G, heating water to wash cloths accounts for 3% of the US residential energy use and using laundry detergent that that does a great job in cold could alone reduce our countries carbon Emissions by a stunning 1%.

Michael Dell shared how remote web assistance cuts greenhouse emissions by 90%, reduces costs and improves customer satisfaction as you don’t have to send your computer away or wait for days to have an outside technician visit your home or office.

He also unveiled a desktop computer smaller than a laptop, made of 90% recycled materials and uses 30% less power. Even the case is recyclable – you’ll have your choice of recycled wood exteriors when the product is released at the end of 2008.

Shai Aggasi has a simple goal – make Israeli oil free by 2015. This will be achieved primarily through business model innovation. The former executive at SAP has billions in investment from Renault/Nissan, the Israeli Government and private investors. Over a half million electrical outlets will be placed at shopping mall, office, and on street parking locations around Israel. Outlets will be connected with GPS so your vehicle will know where to “fill” when you aren’t driving. The most intriguing part is that you’ll have the option of free or low cost cars. The cars will work more like your cell phone – you pay for the recharges, not the car itself and you can pre pay for recharges, have a set plan per month or unlimited minute with multiple year contracts.

The message is clear, government regulation and the environment itself will require us to change how we live but not at the expense of the bottom line. This is one of the most exciting times for innovation in history.