We need an integrated economic- environmental- social strategy for government -- and preferably across all three sectors (business, NGOs and government) -- that tracks human, social and environmental results with an overall performance scorecard.

By measuring these quantifiable improvements – and how they drive economic vitality – an Obama administration could better track the "ROI" of programs, budgets, tax incentives, regulatory choices, and cross-sector incentives to stimulate an improved society.

If the government shifts its focus to managing outcomes (such as reduced cost per mile driven for vehicles) instead of picking and choosing "winners" (like ethanol subsidies), then we could unleash the full innovation of entrepreneurs everywhere to solve problems with a wide diversity of breakthrough solutions.

Cleantech is the perfect testing ground for this approach, since increased eco-impacts naturally correlate also with high ROIs for customers and increased profits for clean tech businesses.