How Companies are Evaluated

Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media company, compiles an annual list of the greenest global brands. For the 2014 list, Corporate Knights began with an initial list of 4,000 publicly traded companies and narrowed it down to just 350. This list was based on financial performance, sustainability disclosure practices and other criteria. These companies were then ranked on several environmental factors and the top 100 were named.

Top 10 Greenest Global Brands

1. Westpac Banking Corporation (Australia, Financials)

2. Biogen Idec Inc (U.S., Health care)

3. Outotec OYJ (Finland, Industrials)

4. Statoil ASA (Norway, Energy)

5. Dassault Systemes SA (France, Information technology)

6. Neste Oil OYJ (Finland, Energy)

7. Novo Nordisk A/S (Denmark, Health care)

8. Adidas AG (Germany, Consumer discretionary)

9. Umicore SA (Belgium, Materials)

10. Schneider Electric SA (France, Industrials)

See the full list of 100 global green companies …

What’s Going On in the U.S.?

As you can see, the United States is noticeably absent from the Top 10 Greenest Global Brands list. Only the number two company on the list, Biogen Idec Inc, is based in the United States. (U.S.-based Cisco Systems was knocking on the door of the Top 10 list and sits as the eleventh-greenest brand in the world.)

Sustainability Success Story: Biogen Idec Inc

Biogen’s approach focuses on three key areas: water, energy and materials. They set a goal in 2009 to reduce their overall carbon footprint by 15% by 2015. Congratulations to Biogen’s aggressive focus on sustainability! They hit their goal in 2012 after reducing their footprint by 18%! They’re now focusing on even more aggressive goals for 2020.

America’s 10 Greenest Companies

If you reduce Corporate Knights’ list to just U.S. companies, here are the top 10 greenest companies in the U.S.

1. Allergan (Health care)

2. Adobe System (Information technology)

3. Ball Corporation (Materials)

4. Ecolab (Materials)

5. Sigma-Aldrich (Materials)

6. McCormick (Consumer Staples)

7. Biogen Idec (Health care)

8. Rockwell Automation (Industrials)

9. Cardinal Health (Health care)

10. Agilent Technologies (Health care)

See 8 companies with big sustainability initiatives>>