Even in this weak economy, many of the world’s largest companies are tackling green projects — emissions, energy efficiency and recycling — with increasing tenacity.
Corporate sustainability, it seems, is here for the long haul. It makes sense not just for the sake of the planet, but for business: The more energy and resources saved or reused, the more profit for the company.
Newsweek has partnered for the second year to come up with a Green Rankings list that measures companies on their environmental records.
U.S. computer technology companies lead the way with seven of the top 15 Green Giant slots. Worldwide, not only technology companies top the field, but insurance companies, financial firms, and even banks measure up as global green leaders.
Here are the top 15 American companies and top 15 Global companies ranked by their dedication to sustainability:
USA
1. IBM
2. Hewlett-Packard
3. Sprint Nextel
4. Baxter (medical and health products)
5. Dell
6. Johnson & Johnson
7. Accenture (management consulting, tech services and outsourcing)
8. Office Depot
9. CA Inc. (Computer Associates – sells management software)
10. NVIDIA (makes computer processors)
11. Agilent Technologies (measurement products for various industries)
12. Hartford Financials (insurance)
13. EMC Corp. (IT services and data centers)
14. Adobe (Software maker, Photoshop)
15. Intel Corp.
WORLDWIDE
1. Munich Re (insurance, financials – Germany)
2. IBM
3. National Australia Bank
4. Banco Bradesco (bank – Brazil)
5. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group
6. BT Group (telecommunications)
7. Tata Consultancy Services (information technology & services – India)
8. Infosys (information technology & services – India)
9. Philips Electronics (consumer electronics, capital products – Netherlands)
10. Swisscom (telecommunications – Switzerland)
11. Société Générale (financials, real estate – France
12. BCE (telecommunications – Canada)
13. Fujitsu (technology equipment – Japan)
14. Walmart de Mexico
15. Hewlett Packard
(READ all the details, plus the Top 500 list, at Newsweek.com/green)