Green Companies/Apple, Eco-fiend?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 6/22/2007 01:27:00 AM
I recently came across this new set of rankings on corporate greenness by Climate Counts, a non-profit initiative designed to spur corporate action on global warming. It classifies companies as stuck (red), starting (yellow), or striding (green) based on four criteria on a per-industry basis: reviewing a firm's own contributions to global warming; reducing its climate footprint; supporting public policy initiatives on climate change; and reporting publicly efforts to address global warming. The following tables rank companies from 0 to 100 based on these aforementioned criteria:
What's surprising to me at least is that Apple Computer is dead last in the electronics category with a score of 2/100. Climate Counts assesses Apple thusly while discouraging the environmentally-conscious consumer from buying Apple products:
STUCK - A choice to avoid for the climate-conscious consumer. This company is not yet taking meaningful action on climate change. Let this company know you want them to get serious and that you're steering clear until they do.

Review: 0/22 points. Climate Counts found no public information to indicate that Apple has started to measure the impact it has on global warming (i.e. its greenhouse gas emissions or climate footprint).

Reduce: 2/56 points. Climate Counts has found that Apple has started to review the overall impact its products have on global warming and intends to release the data later this year.

Policy Stance: 0/10 points. Climate Counts found no public information to suggest that Apple supports public policy that addresses climate change.

Report: 0/12 points. Climate Counts found no information on any efforts that Apple has made to address climate change.

It seems Climate Counts wasn't too impressed with Apple's web page touting its green credentials. Google doesn't come out very well either, which is probably a reason why they've announced a new effort to go green. Sometimes, the less-fashionable firms are ahead on the fashionable mandate of eco-friendliness.