Which Companies Put the Climate First?

Stonyfield Farm began this wonderful non-profit organization called Climate Counts in collaboration with Clean Air-Cool Planet. The main goal of the organization is to bring consumers and companies together to fight climate change on Planet Earth.

In a stroke of genius, Climate Counts created a scorecard to compare companies on their commitment to fighting global warming. Companies were given a score based on 22 criteria that measure climate footprint, efforts to reduce climate impact, support (or lack of support) for progressive climate policies, and publicity of their green efforts.

Check out the 2008 company scores here. Just click on a sector and you’ll find links to the rated companies and a breakdown of their climate scores. I’ve listed a few superstar companies below that topped the list (they received the green “striding” stamp of approval for eco-friendliness)

• Proctor & Gamble (household products) – score: 69
• General Electric (media) – score: 71
• Nike (apparel and accessories) – score: 82
• Stonyfield Farm (food products) – score: 78
• Unilever (food products) – score: 75
• IBM (electronics) – score: 77
• Canon (electronics) – score: 74
• Google (internet/software) – score: 55

Climate Counts also provides a copy of the blank scorecard, so you can see how these companies earned their chops.

Personally, I really appreciate a non-profit agency making this information available to the public. Companies need to be accountable for the effect they have on the climate. Make a mental note of the companies that earned the highest scores, and try to support them the next time you make a purchase.

Click picture to enlarge.