Here is the first of regular weekly Friday posts from Amy Seidman's Noble Profit, which interviews executives at companies that are striving for a better way of building sustainable businesses.

By Amy Seidman

Watch Anne Smart from Silicon Valley Leadership Group speak about Cap and Trade.

A historic milestone was reached November 14, 2012 when Governor Schwarzenegger's California Global Warming Solutions Act came into law, commonly known as Cap and Trade.

The bill passed in 2006, and since formation companies and citizens have been vying for where the billions of dollars raised as revenue from these taxes will be used.

Cap and Trade forces companies to pay taxes based on carbon emissions and allows companies to trade carbon credits -- if they are good at keeping their footprint below the allotted amount.

When billions of dollars are at stake, without a specified use, the lobbyists are out in droves. And this is BIG money with vague spending limits. Anne Smart explains the power grab and why these creative exchanges are so important to companies.

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group is a business trade association and 501.c6 member driven organization founded by David Packard of Hewlett Packard in 1978.

They advocate for policies and programs that improve the quality of life for companies and employees in Silicon Valley. Based in San Jose, there are approximately 375 member companies such as Google, Apple, Intel and HP. Almost all of them contribute to the ongoing development of the clean tech marketplace.

As the Director of Energy, Ms. Smart is well versed in the ways of policy and partnerships toggling her time between Sacramento, Washington DC, and Silicon Valley. She leads SVLG's energy group, and her work is helping clean tech companies find access to capital -- or help large tech companies make their campuses more green and sustainable.

Much of her job involves working in Sacramento and Washington DC on regulations and policies to insure there is a business voice in the room and that we are truly advancing clean tech business and technology.

- - -

Learn more about the Silicon Valley Leadership Group http://svlg.org/

Follow us on Twitter.com/NobleProfit

Register at Noble Profit to gain valuable insights in related topics.