Technology Firms Dominate Newsweek's Latest Green Corporate Scorecard

Dell leads the US list while IBM leads the global list of firms ranked according to the environmental impact and policies.Newsweek's latest scorecard of the world's greenest companies is dominated by technology firms. One and two on the global list (meaning they got the greenest scores) was IBM and HP, with Sony at number 4. (Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical firm, was number 3.) Toshiba was number 10, while Microsoft was 23 and Samsung was 54.

On the US list, Dell, HP, and IBM were one, two, and three, while Intel was fifth. (Johnson & Johnson was number 4 on this list.)

The score for each was created by combining an Environmental Impact Score, a Green Policies Score, and a Reputation Survey Score. These were then combined with a weighting of 45 percent, 45 percent, and 10 percent respectively.

The Environmental Impact Score is 90 percent based on an evaluation of the environmental impact of the firm's global operations using 700 metrics, and 10 percent based on its thoroughness in disclosing that impact. The Green Policies Score is an assessment of how the firm manages its environmental footprint. The Reputation Survey Score is based on surveys of professionals and experts in the field.

Of course, technology and pharmaceutical firms have to constantly rethink what they are doing, so it would be a scandal if they did not embrace the greenest methods as they also embrace the newest methods. Financial and insurance firms are also clustered at the top, but since they don't make anything so how could they not be green?

So I was happy to see representatives from smokestack industries make the global list, such as Toyota (#17), Honda (#18), Nissan (#48) and Ford (#50.)