The NEWSWEEK Green Rankings provide a high profile assessment of the environmental impact, management and disclosure of the 500 largest U.S. and global companies. The rankings are the result of a comprehensive research process undertaken by two leaders in sustainability analysis, supported by a high-level panel of advisors.

For the 2011 Green Rankings Sustainalytics was selected as a lead partner to evaluate environmental policies, management systems, programs and reporting of the companies ranked. Returning research partner Trucost, specializing in quantitative environmental performance metrics, assessed companies on the basis of their environmental impact. NEWSWEEK’s Green Rankings are now available online and in print.

Sustainalytics is delighted to have been chosen by NEWSWEEK for its 2011 Green Rankings. Sustainalytics is a global leader in sustainability research and analysis, providing comprehensive research coverage of both developed and emerging markets. Our success stems from:

• Our transparent methodology and analysis
• Our dedicated, highly-qualified, multilingual team of analysts
• Our rigorous quality assurance and company verification process.

To produce the 2011 Green Rankings, Sustainalytics is collaborating with Trucost to assess each company’s environmental management, impact and disclosure. The U.S. 500 list includes the largest publicly traded U.S. companies and the Global 500 list (expanded from 100 in 2010) includes the largest publicly traded companies based in developed and emerging markets. A number of U.S.-based companies appear on both lists. Company size was evaluated according to revenue, market capitalization, and number of employees.

GREEN SCORE

Companies on each list—the U.S. 500 and the Global 500—are ranked by their overall Green Score. This score is derived from three component scores: an environmental impact score, an environmental management score, and an environmental disclosure score.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SCORE

Based on data compiled by Trucost, this is a comprehensive, quantitative, and standardized measurement of the overall environmental impact of a company’s global operations. More than 700 metrics—including emissions of nine key greenhouse gases, water use, solid waste disposal, and emissions that contribute to acid rain and smog—are factored into the Environmental Impact Score.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SCORE

Based on an analysis of companies tracked in Sustainalytics Global Platform, the Environmental Management Score is an assessment of how a company manages its environmental footprint. The Sustainalytics scoring model measures the quality of each company’s environmental policies, programs, targets and initiatives, on the basis of company operations, suppliers and contractors, as well as products and services.

ENVIRONMENTAL DISCLOSURE SCORE

This year marks the first time that a stand-alone Environmental Disclosure Score will be included, assessing company reporting and transparency on environmental management and performance. This score will evaluate the quality of company sustainability reporting and involvement in key transparency initiatives such as the Global Reporting Initiative and Carbon Disclosure Project.

Click here to read the full methodology for the 2011 Green Rankings.

Advisory Panel

The Green Rankings methodology and weightings were formulated in consultation with an advisory panel convened by NEWSWEEK. This year’s advisory panel includes:

• John Elkington, executive chairman of Volans and cofounder of SustainAbility
• Marjorie Kelly, senior associate at the Tellus Institute and cofounder of Business Ethics
• Tom Murray, managing director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s corporate partnerships program
• David Vidal, research director of global corporate citizenship at the Conference Board
• Michael Toffel, assistant professor of corporate environmental sustainability at Harvard Business School.

What are the criteria used to select research partners?

Whereas Trucost has been a research partner in the Green Rankings since its inception in 2009, this is the first year Sustainalytics has worked with NEWSWEEK. Sustainalytics was selected because of its credible and independent environmental analysis, its vast universe of research coverage (including U.S., global and emerging markets companies), and its past experience working on public rankings for Maclean’s Magazine and Report on Business.

What is Sustainalytics' methodology?

Each of the companies included in the ranking is profiled in Sustainalytics’ Global Platform. The companies are assessed on their environmental management and disclosure across a range of core and sector-specific indicators relating to company operations, contractors and suppliers, and products and services. An analysis of positive performance-related criteria is balanced by a detailed assessment of environmental controversies and incidents, which often indicate the extent to which management systems are effectively implemented.

The weightings assigned to each indicator vary by industry on the basis of impact and exposure. While the companies are consistently ranked across 19 different industries, readers are encouraged to use the online ranking tools to filter on each unique sector. In doing so, they can benchmark industry performance and meaningfully identify leaders and laggards.

Sustainalytics’ research process includes a thorough examination of company documents, media sources, online databases, government sources, NGO research, and other industry sources, as well as direct communication with key stakeholders. As part of our standard research cycle, all profiles are peer reviewed internally and sent to companies for verification.

When will the Green Rankings be available this year?

The 2011 NEWSWEEK Green Rankings will hit the newsstands on October 17th 2011.They will also be made available online at www.newsweek.com/green

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