Produced in partnership with two leaders in sustainability analysis, Trucost and Sustainalytics, Newsweek has published its highly awaited annual Green Rankings list, which delivers a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact, management, and disclosure of the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. and global companies. The two lists highlight firms that are leading, or lackluster, in their environmental performance.

In his article, Newsweek editor Ian Yarrett explains why companies earned top spots:

IBM, in the No. 1 spot on the U.S. list, 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 electricity over that time, cutting its CO₂ emissions and saving the company more than $400 million in the process.

With no manufacturing operations and only a limited supply chain, banks and insurance companies tend to be relatively low impact, and Munich Re, a German reinsurance company, came in first on the global list. But a high ranking isn’t a given for financial firms. Some of their investment portfolios include companies that have environmentally damaging activities, such as coal mining or gas drilling. For the first time this year, the rankings took those risks fully into account.

On the U.S. list, Hewlett-Packard, Sprint Nextel, scored second and third place, while Healthcare giant Baxter ranked fourth. Technology, healthcare, and financial-services companies took the top spots in part because these are inherently low-impact industries, especially when compared with utility and manufacturing companies. Among retailers, both Office Depot, Staples, and Best Buy made the top 20. And, although ranked 37th overall, Boeing was the leader in the capital goods industry sector, with Northrop Gruman (51) next followed by General Electric (63). The top 20 U.S. companies: 

Also, among the findings in this year’s report are the least-green companies – the bottom of the list represents companies that haven’t yet put the effort in to measure, manage and reduce their impacts. Bottom 10:

For more information on Newsweek’s Green List, visit www.Newsweek.com/green

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