The GOOD 100: Big Brands Bet on Electric

Leading the Charge

A fleet of electric vehicles may seem like a remote reality right now, but if the corporate world is betting right, it is closer than we think. Besides the various car companies now falling over themselves to get electric cars into the market, other major American corporations are starting to get ready for a world in which people need to fill up their ride with a plug and not a pump.

Best Buy is starting its foray into electric-vehicle retail by offering an electric motorcycle called the Enertia. It can go 55 miles per hour, and costs less than one cent per mile to run. The price tag-$12,000-is hefty, but the idea of all-electric vehicles being sold at one of the nation's largest big-box stores is a good omen for the gradual acceptance of electricity as the new fuel.

McDonald's is also getting into the action, with free charging stations at some of its locations. Sure, most of those locations are in Sweden, to help the company comply with E.U. regulations (and because people actually drive electric cars in Sweden), but the fast food chain also debuted an experimental LEED-certified outpost in North Carolina this July, which includes two such stations. It shows both that McDonald's is willing to adapt and that if there is a need from consumers, our corporations won't turn down a chance to monetize it, even if the initial investment is high.