by Shane Henson — December 14, 2011—Climate Counts, an organization working to bring consumers and companies together in the fight against global climate change, recently released its annual assessment of major consumer brands’ climate responsibility, the Climate Counts 5th Annual Company Scorecard Report.
Climate Counts assessed 136 companies in 16 industry sectors for the fifth annual scorecard. With 79 companies attaining a striding climate score (50 points or better), and 13 companies scoring 80 points or higher in 2011 compared to four in 2010, an ever-increasing number of companies are taking steps to reduce their impact on climate, Climate Counts’ leaders say.
However, the organization’s leaders also noted that while more companies strive to achieve carbon neutrality, there remain several others without a climate strategy in place at all. This highlights the lingering need for a price on carbon, and climate and energy policy that would level the playing field across all industry sectors. While 30 companies from this year’s scoring cycle vocalized strong support for federal level climate policy, 82 companies (or 60%) remained silent or in opposition of such efforts.
This year’s Climate Counts sector leaders and the points they scored are:
- Airlines: Southwest Airlines, 55
- Apparel/Accessories: Nike, 85
- Beverages/Beer: Anheuser-Busch, 57
- Commercial Banks: Bank of America, 82
- Consumer Shipping: UPS, 80
- Electronics: Hewlett-Packard, 83
- Food Products: Unilever, 88
- Food Services: Starbucks, 70
- Home and Office Furnishings: Herman Miller and Masco, 63
- Hotels: Marriott, 73
- Household Products: L’Oreal, 78
- Internet/Software: Microsoft, 68
- Large Appliances: AB Electrolux, 80
- Media: General Electric, 77
- Pharmaceuticals: AstraZeneca, 86
- Toys & Children’s Equipment: Hasbro, 52
