Hear ye, hear ye: The corporate world gets a conscience! In January, IBM launched an initiative called the Eco-Patent Commons, a program that publicizes selected patents for environmentally beneficial technologies.

Upon launching, IBM made thirty-one green patents public; examples include manufacturing processes for water purification and stabilization of volatile compounds. So far there are 175 companies participating in the patent commons, such as Pitney Bowes, Sony, and Nokia (who submitted a patent for recycling cellphones into new electronic gadgets).

Traditional business practices dictate the jealous hoarding of information—to do otherwise would seemingly result in fiscal loss. But the Eco-Patent Commons defies this traditional logic and reasons that working to lessen environmental harm does not necessarily have to mean negative cash flow.

OK, so a bunch of electronics companies are sharing patents. Does that actually mean anything for you, other than throwing a few warm fuzzies over the cold prickly feeling you get when you hear about corporate relations? Yes, green reader, it does. This means is electronics companies are acknowledging the vast havoc manufacturing our beloved laptops, cellphones, stereos, televisions and blackberries wreaks on the environment. Sharing their green innovations and technologies will allow the 175 companies in the Eco-Patent Commons to address these issues more efficiently and with higher quality standards. And that means that maybe you don’t have to feel that twinge of environmentally-conscious guilt every time you buy that new, pretty, shiny gadget that’s faster and sleeker than the last pretty, shiny gadget you bought.