Newsweek’s 2011 Green Rankings

NEW YORK, October 17, 2011 -

World governments may have dropped the ball on climate change, but several international companies are taking the lead in carrying the eco-mantle. Newsweek’s 2011 Green Rankings analyze the biggest companies in America — and the world — to determine which are doing the most to save the planet. In the United States, IBM comes in first as a result of its relatively light environmental footprint, proactive management when it comes to green issues, and detailed public reporting of its impacts.  The company has conserved more than 5.4 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, saving $400 million, between 1990 and 2010. Hewlett-Packard, Sprint Nextel, Baxter, and Dell round out the top five. In general, technology, health-care, and financial services companies take the top spots on this year’s list.

(Logo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111017/NY87567LOGO )

However, European and Asian countries seem to be outperforming American ones when it comes to environmental sustainability. After IBM (No. 2 on the Global list), there are 12 spots before the next U.S. company (Hewlett-Packard, No. 15 globally). European companies are also dominating when it comes to transparent disclosure of their environmental impacts, accounting for 65 percent of the top 100 disclosure scores in our rankings.

About the methodology:

Newsweek’s Green Rankings compare the environmental footprint, management (policies, initiatives, controversies) and transparency of the biggest companies on the planet. Published annually since 2009, this project is the first effort by a major media organization to comprehensively rank companies in this way. Newsweek teamed up with two leading environmental research organizations, Trucost and Sustainalytics, to produce the most comprehensive rankings, of 500 global and 500 US companies, available. The methodology was developed in collaboration with an advisory panel of sustainability experts. For additional details on the methodology visit: thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/10/16/green-rankings-2011.html

For a full list of Newsweek’s Green Rankings, visit: thedailybeast.com/topics/green-rankings.html

Topping the global and US Rankings are:

Global:

1. Munich Re
2. IBM
3. National Australia Bank
4. Bradesco
5. ANZ Banking Group
6. BT Group
7. Tata Consultancy Services
8. Infosys
9. Philips Electronics
10. Swisscom

US:

1. IBM
2. Hewlett-Packard
3. Sprint Nextel
4. Baxter
5. Dell
6. Johnson & Johnson
7. Accenture
8. Office Depot
9. CA Technologie
10. NVIDA

Andrew Kirk, andrew.kirk at newsweek.com or Chelsie Gosk, +1-212-524-8854, chelsie.gosk at newsweek.com