This device seems so desirable and intuitive that it would turn home energy management into a must-have symbol of sustainable living, and maybe even a must-have accessory like the iPod . The retail price for the sexy stat is $249.99 starting in November, to be “a jewel on the wall… most people try to hide the thermostat, but we’re trying to make it sexy and coveted so that you cherish it, and at parties people ask you about it and you’re proud of it.” Check out this teaser video from Nest Labs:

So is this the replacement for the terribly outdated thermostat? If the marketing content is to be believed, then yes it is. I think the most intriguing and intelligent feature of the Nest Learning Thermostat is under that slick case. It’s equipped with software that analyzes and tracks your usage patterns over time, so that you only have to twist that dial a dozen times before the thermostat can simply anticipate your climate-control needs and take care of it automatically. “Instead of programming their thermostats, most people have given up and treat it like a light switch,” Fadell says. “But you have to make those manual adjustments about 1,500 times a year if you want to see any real energy savings.” Nest’s version elegantly lets you set it and forget it–at least after the initial learning period of about a week.

To adjust the temperature, turn a ring on the rim of the device–if you’re making it cooler, the display turns blue, and if you’re making it warmer, it turns red. The temperature itself is displayed in a clear, bright numeric readout. There’s also a helpful little green leaf that appears on the screen to guide to you into tweaking your settings for optimal energy savings, it reminds me of the display in any Toyota Hybrid car that lets you know when you’re using battery power so you can clap yourself on the back.

The manufacturer claims a two year payback period because it could save you up to 50% on annual heating/cooling bills. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

Starting a business is tough enough, and when you’re young and inexperienced, the challenge of building credibility is an added pressure. But you shouldn’t let your age get in the way.

“Being young and not having entrenched experience can actually be an advantage,” says Susan Gregg Koger, 26, who founded ModCloth, an online fashion retail company when she was 17. The company now has 240 employees and offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh. “Learning quickly and understanding what a Facebook user wants, what a Twitter user wants – there’s something very valuable in being part of that demographic and user base,” she says.

Still, it’s important to take a strategic approach to growing your businesswhen you don’t have the power of experience on your side. Here are five tips to help young entrepreneurs build the kind of credibility needed to make their business a success.

1. Focus. Focus. Focus.
You’ve got a lot of ideas you’re eager to try out. That’s natural for many entrepreneurs in the early stages of business, but to build credibility, you need a very specific focus. “You never want to be good at 20 things,” says Jared O’Toole, 25, founder of Under30CEO, a New York-based organization for young entrepreneurs. “There’s always going to be someone who is better than you at each one of those things.” Rather than strategizing about how to build the next billion-dollar company, focus on carving out a niche for yourself. “That focus builds your credibility,” O’Toole says.

Related: Mashable’s Pete Cashmore on Persistence

2. Build your business online.
The online world is an obvious place to begin building a track record as a business owner, says Neil Patel, 26, co-founder of KISSmetrics a San Francisco-based web-analytics company. “A web presence is cheap and it’s a great way to show people what you are made of,” he says. “As a young entrepreneur that’s really important because age is not on your side.”

Not only is blogging and using social media important in gaining exposure, reaching out to other businessesonline is also key, adds Koger. “I did a ton of outreach in the beginning,” she says, noting that she exchanged website links with other vintage retail entrepreneurs when blogging during her company’s early years. “You never know who can help you.”

3. Make time for face-time.
But Facebook, Twitter and email will get you only so far. As part of a tech-obsessed generation, young entrepreneurs shouldn’t forget the value of face-to-face networking, says O’Toole. “You might have a good relationship with someone through email but they aren’t going to offer that handshake that gets you to the next level with one of their buddies,” he says. “You really have to make an effort to set up meetings, go to events and shake hands.”

O’Toole suggests reaching out to people you admire in the industry and asking them to meet in person. When someone well-respected introduces you at an event, many people will assume you are doing something right, O’Toole says. “You don’t need a hundred people, you just need to associate with a couple of people that everyone knows in the industry,” he says. “That’s your fast track to the next level.”

Related: Top Five Social Media Mistakes

4. Deliver on your promises.
Building strong relationships with clients in the early stages of your business is also important in establishing credibility. Those are the people who will vouch for your company, so go the extra mile for them. For Aaron Batalion, chief technology officer and co-founder of LivingSocial, a Washington, D.C.-based daily deal company, those early relationships with merchants and customers were important in building the company’s name. Batalion was 27 when he and his three co-founders started LivingSocial in 2007. Today they have 2,500 employees and 40 million members around the world. “Once you… go above and beyond what you said you would do, people see that and share it with their colleagues,” he says.

But while it’s critical to make your customers happy, don’t try to rope them in with lofty promises. “If you can’t provide something don’t promise it,” says Patel. “Always under-promise and over-deliver.”

5. Be yourself.
You may be tempted to make yourself seem older or conceal your age, but it’s an unnecessary and possibly detrimental precaution to take, says Patel. Instead, be confident and transparent. “If you can show that you’re mature and smart for your age, why not show it?” he says.

Apologizing for your lack of experience and youth is also not a smart move, says Koger. “If you are working with someone you have to apologize for your age with, it’s probably not a relationship you should be pursuing,” she says.

Bottom line? Focus on what you’re good at and age won’t matter. “You build up credibility by being an expert in your field,” Batalion says. “It’s important to make sure the thing you’re best at is what you’re passionate about.”

Juretzek, a German designer, throws together disused clothes to create stylish little chairs that could almost pass for something you’d find around the dining-room table, if not for the occasional exposed zipper (ouch!).

Jabbing zippers aside, you’d be forgiven for doubting whether worn-out clothes can make for decent furniture. After all, they’ve got to support a person’s entire body weight. Juretzek assures us that the chairs are plenty sturdy. Each is composed of some 13 pounds of clothing — taken from friends, a used-clothing company, or Juretzek’s own closet — that the designer soaks in resin, then compresses in a mold.

The Rememberme chairs will be manufactured and sold by the Italian furniture company Casamania, most likely this fall, Juretzek says. They’ll cost about $950 each.

What struck me in this litany of percentages was that, though 93% of respondents say their company has sustainability initiatives, those initiatives are not comprehensive, but piecemeal: the most common areas for sustainability initiatives are in reducing electricity usage and green IT (51%), talent and skills initiatives (47%) and development of sustainability-based new products (44%). Commendable, yes; transformative, no.

Seeing sustainability as a peripheral is not conducive to the wider acceptance of sustainability as a comprehensive, long-term strategic approach to business. “Only by placing it at the heart of commercial strategy can sustainability be a channel to growth and innovation,” said Bruno Berthon, managing director at Accenture Sustainability Services. Hear, hear to that: sustainability is a strategic imperative, not a feel-good extra.

How can we break down the barriers to this mindset? First, by identifying them: Accenture’s study shows that cost (43 percent), inability to measure sustainability efforts (31 percent), lack of government incentives (30 percent) and the belief that one company can’t make a difference to climate change (29 percent) as the key barriers.

Let’s tackle these:

1.  The true cost of ignoring sustainability. In January 2009, A.T. Kearney published an analysis titled “’Green’ Winners: The performance of sustainability-focused companies during the financial crisis.” The analysis finds that companies committed to corporate sustainability practices are achieving above average performance in the financial markets during this slowdown. In 16 of the 18 industries the report examined, companies recognized as sustainability-focused outperformed their industry peers over both a three and six-month period, and were well protected from value erosion. Over three months, the positive performance differential across the 99 companies in this analysis worked out to 10 percent; over six months, the differential was 15 percent.

2. The new reporting reality. The financial function plays a critical role in supporting sustainability. A company must decide what matters most, determine ways to measure it, and define progress and success. Metrics could include employee retention, customer loyalty, greenhouse gas and waste stream impacts, enterprise risk management (reduced energy, commodity, and resource consumption). It’s crucial to define and develop reporting strategies, processes, and ways to communicate sustainability information accurately and consistently.

3. The need for a more supportive government. Governments can influence private-sector sustainability initiatives through tax laws and regulatory requirements, motivating companies to incorporate sustainability into tax planning, risk management, and operational performance assessments. The American Sustainable Business Council is working to support these types of changes to public policy.

4. The belief that business is an instrument of change. Though respondents believe the ability to effect change is a barrier, they also identified business as the entity that should ensure progress is made in a sustainable way. Business is a powerful agent for change–a number of companies have shown us the ability business has to be good and profitable. Let’s follow their lead.

Sustainability and corporate responsibility are not add-ons, or peripherals–they are both strategic approaches that must be woven into a business’ core, its mission and its vision. Only then, can business achieve change that transforms society.