Tech Going Green, IBM, Intel & Dell Rank Amongst The Top In Climate Change Strategies

With millions of customers and massive operations and supply chains, consumer and technology companies face broad impacts from climate change, whether from higher energy costs due to emerging climate regulations or growing global demand for products that use less energy and contribute fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

According to the recently released Ceres Report, which uses a "Climate Change Governance Framework" to evaluate how 48 US companies and 15 non-US companies are addressing climate change, Inel, IBM and Dell all ranked in the top 5 companies with the best climate change strategies. IBM ranked 1st overall add first in the technology category with Dell ranking 3rd overall and 2nd in the tech category. Intel ranked 4th overall, and 1st for the semiconductor sector.



The report took six months to complete and uses data from securities filings, company reports, company websites, third-party questionnaires and direct company communications. Information collected includes: board of director oversight, management execution, public disclosure, GHG emissions accounting and strategic planning and performance. A 100-point scoring system based on this framework is setup. IBM scored 79pts, Dell 77pts and Intel 72pts. More than half of the 63 companies scored under 50 points, with a median score of 38 points.

A few notable companies that scored poorly on the report: Best Buy only scored 36pts, Apple 28pts, Costco 14pts and with by far the lowest score Abercrombie and Fitch scored a zero.

For more details you can download the report (pdf) or download the full report with Co. profiles (PDF 316 pages, 3.4 MB)

Download Company Profiles by Industry Sector:

Apparel Beverages Big Box Retailers Grocery & Drug Retailers

Household & Personal Goods Pharmaceuticals Real Estate Restaurants

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In related news in a recent press release, Seagate has announced plans to run its massive Springtown manufacturing plant on 100% renewable energy. The company says it has switched from a traditional electricity supply to environmentally friendly wind power, supplied by Airtricity, Ireland’s leading renewable energy company.

“Going green was a significant factor for us when we were reviewing our energy supply contract,” said John Spangler, vice president at Seagate’s high-tech Springtown facility. “We are not a heavy or conventionally ‘dirty’ industry and we have no smokestacks to shut down, but we do not view that as a warrant for complacency. Internationally the company is making a positive difference through an aggressive programme of energy use reduction and we wanted to reflect those priorities here at Springtown.

“The Springtown manufacturing facility, by its very nature, is a heavy consumer of energy and we are constantly seeking ways to reduce energy consumption. Internally we have already implemented many excellent projects to decrease our carbon footprint, but switching to a renewable power source allowed us to go still further. This is an important demonstration of our commitment to doing business in a way that respects the environment.”

Seagate says the electricity required to run the massive Springtown plant will be 100 per cent renewable, reducing the site’s carbon footprint by 41,800 tons of carbon dioxide, which equates to 95 percent of the total carbon emitted each year by Springtown. The reduction is the equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted by 4,500 households per year