America’s Greenest Companies

Here is a list of America’s greenest companies according to Newsweek’s Global 2011 Green Rankings, which were compiled in cooperation with Trucost and Sustainalytics, two leading environmental-research firms. Their assessments of the environmental footprints of the world’s largest companies included greenhouse-gas emissions, water use, reporting, transparency, environmental policies programs and initiatives. The Newsweek rankings suggest that the US is trailing other parts of the world in the sustainability arena.

IBM ranks first (No. 2 on the global list), IBM has been measuring, managing, and voluntarily reporting on its environmental impact for more than 20 years. It says it has conserved 5.4 million kilowatt-hours of elec-tricity over that time, cutting its CO2 emissions and saving the company more than $400 million in the process.

Energy efficiency and conservation is a “business no-brainer,” says Wayne Balta, a vice presi-dent who oversees sustainability at IBM. But the company has extended its eco-savvy far beyond its own operations—for instance, providing software that helps customers identify energy-saving efficien-cies at an office campus.

HP is second (they are ranked No. 15 globally). Office Depot comes in at number 8, they are the single retailer to make it into the US top 10. The company has saved 3,000 tons of wood and up to $1.5 million a year simply by delivering goods in paper bags rather than cardboard boxes. But, as with IBM, perhaps more significant are the tools Office Depot provides to its largest customers, including cities, states, and large corporations. It shows customers the environmental and financial tradeoffs of their purchasing decisions on everything from copy paper to cleaning supplies.

Here is the list of the top 25 US firms including the sector in which they operate.

1 IBM – Information Technology & Services
2 Hewlett-Packard – Technology Equipment
3 Sprint Nextel – Telecommunications
4 Baxter – Healthcare
5 Dell – Technology Equipment
6 Johnson & Johnson – Healthcare
7 Accenture – Information Technology & Services
8 Office Depot – Retailers
9 CA Technologies – Information Technology & Services
10 Nvidia – Technology Equipment
11 Agilent Technologies – Healthcare
12 Hartford Financial Services Grp. – Financials
13 EMC – Technology Equipment
14 Adobe Systems – Information Technology & Services
15 Intel – Technology Equipment
16 Cognizant Technology – Information Technology & Services
17 Staples – Retailers
18 Motorola Solutions – Technology Equipment
19 Best Buy – Retailers
20 Allergan – Healthcare
21 McGraw-Hill – Media & Publishing
22 Ford Motor – Vehicles & Components
23 Walt Disney – Media & Publishing
24 Citigroup – Financials
25 American Express – Financials

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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