NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Conglomerate General Electric Co., a target of environmental activists in the past, announced a new push towards more environmentally-friendly business Monday.

GE CEO Jeff Immelt said the company plans to double its annual research and investments for new, greener technologies to $1.5 billion by 2010 from $700 million in 2004.

Immelt, who was joined by World Resources Institute President Jonathan Lash, said the "Ecomagination" initiative will work towards reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency and introduce products that rely on alternative energy sources such as solar or wind power.

"We plan to make money doing it," he said. "Increasingly for business, 'green' is green."

GE is already responding to the global demand for alternative energy sources through energy-efficient lighting and engines and recently made acquisitions that will allow the company to make inroads into the clear-water industry.

Immelt told the Wall Street Journal on Monday that concern about global warming is good for GE and its shareholders because the company sells technology such as wind turbines and natural-gas-fueled turbines that produce fewer emissions than traditional methods to generate power.

"We're at a tipping point where energy efficiency and emission reductions also equal profitability," he said.

GE has not always been so friendly with environmental groups. In December 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered GE to pay nearly $500 million to dredge toxic chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCB's, off the floor of the upper Hudson River. GE has yet to start the clean-up, negotiating with the agency over the order.

For more news on Fortune 500 companies, click here.