Top 25 Companies Going Green
Bank of America
Reduced paper consumption by 32% from 2000-2005, internal recycling
program recycles 30,000 tons of paper each year, offers employees $3,000 cash back reward for owning
a hybrid vehicle
Ceres Ensure companies accurately disclose environmental aspects of business practices to investors
and shareholders
General Electric Since 2006, sold over $12B Ecomagination products (including solar panels), cleaning up
pollution of Hudson River
Dupont Drastically lowered airborne carcinogen and greenhouse gas emissions, appointed exGreenpeace head as advisor to board
Innovest
Gives investors quick gauge on true eco-friendliness of companies being invested
McDonalds
Works closely with PETA to systematically reform its business practices to be more
humane and environmentally friendly
Home Depot
Rolled out a “no old-growth sales” of harvesting trees from old-growth rainforests
Anheuser-Busch
cans
Saves 21 million pounds of metal per year by trimming 1/8” off diameter of beer
Pratt & Whitney
Ingots that used be scrapped now cast into ready-made blade-like shapes,
thereby reducing amount of wasted ingots and factory emissions
Starbucks
organizations
Use recycled paper for coffee cup sleeves, partner with many environmental
Wal-Mart
Long-term goal to power stores using 100% renewable energy sources and make
operations more eco-friendly
Tesla Motors
Plan to build 100% electronically powered car at a mere 2 cents per mile
Coca-Cola
Focused on water stewardship, sustainable packaging, and climate & energy protection
with focus on overhaul of packaging designs
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Has the world’s largest fleet of fuel efficient vehicles made up of hybrids or
vehicles with option to be powered on E85 ethanol; also planning to plant fifty million trees across the
USA
Toyota Developed the Prius - the world’s first mass-market hybrid vehicle that is ranked as the third
least carbon-emitting auto
Dell
Adopted “no computer should go to waste” recycling program where any Dell-branded product
can be returned to the company for free; will also accept other computers from other companies for
safe disposal for nominal fee
Target Launching eco-clothing line created using dynamic fabrics
Brooks Has a completely biodegradable running shoe (20 years instead of traditional 1000)
Honda Working on a hydrogen fuel cell powered “FCX” instead of gasoline; pledged to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions by another 5% before 2010
Continental Airlines
Replaced entire fleet of airplanes with more fuel-efficient models, reducing
emissions by 5% on its 737 model aircrafts; nitrogen oxide emissions from Houston hub reduced by 75%
since 2000; have 12 full time environmentalists on staff working with engine manufacturers to design
greener, more efficient processes for company operations
Tesco Offer savings to customers who bring reusable shopping bags, turned each of its stores into
wind-powered, high-recycling, biodiesel truck delivered epicenters; also aiming to estimate the carbon
costs of each item
S.C. Johnson Uses a system that ranks impact on the environment by evaluating the raw materials
used and reduced 1.8 million pounds of volatile organic compounds from Windex line of products, 4
million pounds of polyvinylidene chloride from Saran Wrap; scaled back coal-fired plants and replacing
with natural gas and methane powered facilities
Goldman Sachs Invested $1.5 million in solar, ethanol, and wind power; many employees drive hybrid
vehicles
Hewlett-Packard
Own and operate enormous “e-waste” recycling plants that are recycled into
industrial food chains; also ensures own products are 100% recyclable; promised to lower energy
consumption by 20% by 2010
TJX Companies Early adopter of electronic ballast technology that significantly lowered the use of
electricity in the company’s stores; recycle corrugated cardboard from vendors
*Information obtained from www.businesspundit.com/25-big-companies-that-are-going-green, July 29,
2008