Unilever Climbs to No. 1 in Climate Counts Ratings

Published December 07, 2011

Editor's Note: Also see Marc Gunther's GreenBiz post on the Climate Counts Scoreboard and his interview with Project Director Mike Bellamente.

Unilever knocked Nike from its three-year reign as the top-scoring firm in the annual Climate Counts assessment of major consumer brands and their work toward corporate climate responsibility.

Unilever's climb to the lead position is among the highlights of the Climate Counts Scorecard issued this morning. The report shows a steady increase in CCR scores attained by companies as well as a growing number of firms being included in the review.

"We're witnessing a remarkable shift across the corporate community," said Climate Counts Project Director Mike Bellamente in a statement released with the report.

"As business risks associated with climate change continue to grow, sustainability is becoming intertwined with long-term strategy at the highest levels of business," he said. "Our optimism is tempered by the reality that global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, but corporate leaders appear to be on the right track."

The four highest-scoring firms for 2011 are:

Unilever, which scored 88 out of a possible 100 points.
AstraZeneca, which came in second with 86 points.
Nike and Siemens, which each scored 85 points.

Unilever has committed to slashing its environmental footprint in half by 2020 by following its Sustainable Living Plan. The company's rise to the top of the 2011 Climate Counts Scorecard marks the second time in as many weeks that the firm has been recognized for its sustainability efforts.

How the Scorecard Works

Climate Counts reviewed 136 large companies in 16 business sectors this year. Each firm was scored on a 100-point scale based on criteria in four key areas that deal with whether the company:

Is inventorying greenhouse gas emissions and using industry-accepted protocol to do so. A total 22 points are possible in this category.
Has articulated a strategy for curbing GHG emissions and actually reduced them. This area holds the most possible points, 56.
Explicitly supports the need for comprehensive energy and climate policy. Ten possible points.
Publicly discloses information about sustainability efforts and progress toward carbon neutrality.

Next Page: The 2011 Sector Leaders

Rob Bernard: Microsoft's Perspective on Climate Policy Although it's not often discussed in the context of UN climate summits, there is a strong role that technology in the climate fight, which is why Microsoft has sent a delegation to each of the last three COPs. Here's our take on climate policy....	Climate Change and the Consumption Trap After more than two decades of talking about sustainable consumption -- and in spite of advances in resource efficiencies and renewable energy -- we are not all that much closer to consuming sustainably.
Companies Shifting to Cloud Computing Save Energy & Cut Waste New research shows just how much energy companies can save from a migration, even while the same research shows even wider business benefits from cloud computing....	Why the Volt Battery ‘Crisis' Is More Heat than Light Given reports of battery-related fires in Chevy Volts, is there now a worry about the safety of mass-produced plug-in cars? Not really.
Is Water High Enough on the Agenda in Durban? With Africa likely to face the first and most severe impacts from climate-related water shortages, it's fitting to raise the issue at COP17. But research shows neither businesses nor governments are taking the crisis seriously enough....	Can the Private Sector Play a Bigger Part at COP17? For the first time ever, the private sector may have a place in the negotiating text at the UN climate talks taking place in Durban, South Africa....
LG, Intuit, Igefa Pilot New UL 880 Sustainability Standard UL Environment and GreenBiz Group publish the final version of UL 880 today, which, along with the upcoming UL 881 for service companies, will serve as the foundation of ULE's new Sustainability Quotient Program.	4 Ways to Be Sure You're Buying the Right Energy Management Software Energy management has quickly moved to the center of the C-Suite's radar, so finding the right partner is critically important. Our latest research identifies the leading software providers and what steps you should take to seal the deal....

Blogs

Unilever Climbs to No. 1 in Climate Counts Ratings

GreenBiz Events