The New York Times has a piece on venture capital firms that portray themselves as environmentally friendly—investing in alternative energy and such—but don’t always live up to their eco-conscious images. The article seems shocked and dismayed that any such firm might also invest in fossil fuels, but has a great bit from Erik Straser of Mohr Davidow Ventures:

“It’s called browntech,” said Erik Straser, a partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures. One of that venture firm’s investments is in a start-up called Panasas, which has developed computer storage technology to help oil companies become hyperefficient at finding new places to explore.
Mohr Davidow invests in energy markets, he said, because they are big, and have big profit potential, not foremost because they offer an opportunity to help the environment.
“I’m here to make the kind of green my limited partners can spend,” Mr. Straser said.

Yes, it’s true: investment firms exist to make money—and that’s exactly why they should exist. Not to add some nebulous, ill-defined “social value” to non-interested “stakeholders.” Not to fund pet projects of activist outsiders. Not to limply bend to the will of environmental pressure groups. Nope, none of this. Just to make a profit. As anyone who has ever seen an assembly line knows, specialization creates efficiency, and thus we don’t want companies trying to be all-purpose do-gooders. No, as Milton Friedman famously wrote, the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. And that’s it.