A new report by energy consultants at McKinsey & Company says the US could fairly painlessly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent, although the consultants were not optimistic this would happen anytime soon.

One example they cite is making changes in the lighting, heating and cooling of buildings that would save emissions and money. The problem is landlords and builders are able to pass energy costs on to tenants or home buyers. They have no incentive to spend more upfront for energy efficient equipment.

Another example is the potentially large energy and emission reductions made possible by choosing more energy efficient computing equipment. The problem here, the consultants say, is few consumers consider energy consumption when choosing which computer or electronic gadget to buy. That means consumer electronics manufacturers have little incentive to make their products more energy efficient.

This study underscores the challenge in achieving goals of dramatically lower carbon emissions. Too many business decision makers require financial incentives before taking steps to slash carbon emissions. Too few are investing in reducing CO2 emissions because it is simply the right thing to do. Period.

Fortunately, there are growing numbers of enlightened entrepreneurs and businesses that recognize something must be done to stave off the worst effects of climate change. And they are determined to make money while they do good. I learned of one such outfit yesterday, when speaking with a local general contractor. In addition to his contracting business, he is an independent representative of Citizenre Corporation. From what this contractor told me, Citizenre is launching a completely new business model for supplying residential solar panel equipment. According to the company Web site:

The Citizenre REnU program is the first to give residential customers the chance to use green energy in their home without the usual dilemma. A photovoltaic (“PV”) array, inverters, and an exchange point (“XP”) are prepackaged to deliver energy to the customer or the utility from power generated at the home. Our new program takes care of all the usual headaches: it provides hassle free installation, operation, and maintenance – and does so with the most attractive terms in the industry. Customers have the option to rent the system for either 1, 5 or 25 years. This arrangement eliminates the traditional up-front investment and associated investment risk.

But before you get too excited by those grand claims, it sounds like the company is quite a few months away from getting its panel manufacturing worked out. So the most you can do right now is sign up early and lock in your rates. Then wait until their product is ready for installation.

The point here is many, if not most, businesses want to be assured of profits before doing the right thing. But a few are willing to risk doing the right thing with no guarantees of making money. I know which group I want the market to reward.