Today, Newsweek released its Green Rankings, "a data-driven assessment of the largest companies in the U.S. and in the world."

Eight of the top ten ranked US companies are technology companies. Greenpeace, of course, publishes our own regular assessment of Climate Leadership in the IT sector, with the next report due out in late November.

This morning we issued the following statement:

Newsweek Green Rankings Show Need for Leading Companies to Become Stronger Climate Advocates

18 October 2010, Amsterdam -- In reaction to Newsweek's launch of its 2010 Green Rankings (1) today, Casey Harrell of Greenpeace International said:  

"While we congratulate Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM on their top billing on Newsweek's 2010 Green Rankings, this assessment further highlights the need for these leading green IT companies to become greater advocates for strong political leadership to combat climate change.

“Currently, both in the United States and worldwide, climate protection legislation is being significantly held back by the dirty energy industry, some of the laggards in Newsweek's survey. The IT companies can and should do more to redress this imbalance.”

“The IT industry lobbies heavily in Washington DC, Brussels, and state and provincial capitals on many initiatives, but, with a few exceptions, punches well below its weight on climate change policies. 

“The IT industry should begin its increased advocacy by weighing in on these important upcoming policy decisions: 

- In November voters in California will decide whether to effectively repel the state's greenhouse gas law. Environmental groups, individuals, and clean tech firms are fighting this proposition from out-of-state oil money, but outside of Google (3) and Applied Materials, no other leading tech sector firm has voiced opposition to Prop 23.

- The European Union will soon determine whether to increase the ambition of  its greenhouse gas reduction targets for the region beyond business as usual to a more robust 30 percent reduction by 2020 (at 1990 levels)." (4)


End Notes: 


3.  http://www.grist.org/article/silicon-valley-prop-23-will-kill-off-the-googles-of-green-tech/

4. IT leaders Google, Cisco and Sony have voiced opposition to trade association BusinessEurope, which is fighting the new proposed reduction goal, while other IT members with unique influence within the trade association, IBM, Microsoft and Intel (ranked 3, 29, and 5 in the Newsweek report), have been silent on the issue. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/Cool-IT/google-sony-cisco-back-strong-eu-emissions-go/blog/26649