Photographs: Mick Tsikas/Reuters
Global warming and environmental pollution are two major concerns of the present world.
To counter them, companies across the globe have adopted several measures and some have excelled in their efforts.
Last year, Newsweek came up with a list of greenest companies of the world and for that, it compared the actual environmental footprint, management (policies, initiatives, controversies) and transparency of various companies.
Newsweek partnered with two environmental research organisations, Trucost and Sustainalytics, to conduct this study.
The methodology was developed in consultation with an advisory panel of corporate sustainability experts.
For Rediff Realtime News . . .
World's 10 greenest companies
Photographs: Munich Re headquarter.
Rank 1: Munich Re
Country: Germany
Type of business: Financials
Green score: 83.6
Munich Re is a member of the Climate Group.
The company helps corresponding companies find solutions to climate change, for example by adapting both their product ranges and their consulting services to changing environmental conditions.
Munich Re's involvement in the Finance Initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme goes back to 1999.
The company is also a signatory to the June 2007 UNEP FI joint declaration on climate change, which calls for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and includes a commitment to sustainable management.
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World's 10 greenest companies
Rank 2: IBM
Country: United States
Type of business: Information Technology & Services
Green score: 82.5
A few years back, IBM Corporation took its data centre business under the Project Big Green concept to the next level of fruition by launching three new data centre designs for the Indian market.
IBM solutions can help customers reduce costs and minimise energy, water, carbon emissions and waste.
IBM is helping customers to become more energy efficient, implement new ways to source, manufacture and distribute goods and services in a more sustainable manner, enable safe and renewable sources of energy and manage resources at a macro level, transforming entire industries.
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World's 10 greenest companies
Rank 3: National Australia Bank
Country: Australia
Type of business: Financials
Green score: 82.2
More than 600 employee volunteers have helped the NAB cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 15 per cent since 2006.
Since 2006, the NAB has saved around 21,000 tonnes of annual emissions from reduced energy use across its operations and another 12,000 tonnes by boosting its renewable energy purchase.
In September 2008, the company topped the Global 500 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index for non-carbon intensive industries segment, and became the highest scoring Australian bank.
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World's 10 greenest companies
Rank 4: Bradesco
Country: Brazil
Type of business: Financials
Green score: 82.2
The Bank has a Carbon Credit Management area, which offers funding to companies that want to launch projects to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions.
However, the programme is so advanced for Brazil that it is not heavily utilised.
The bank advocates eco-efficiency, which strives to 'create more value with less environmental impact.'
The Eco-efficiency Working Group established a Master Plan in 2010 that lays out plans for the next five years.
World's 10 greenest companies
Photographs: Reuters
Rank 5: ANZ Banking Group
Country: Australia
Type of business: Financials
Green score: 80.9
The company has set targets to reduce consumption of electricity, water, paper, green house gas emissions.
The company has developed Environment Management System.
In late 2010, the company received certification from the Australian Carbon Trust (now Low Carbon Australia), the body which administers the government's National Carbon Offset Standard.
The company's global headquarters ANZ Centre, has been designed to produce 70 per cent less green house gas emissions than a standard commercial office building and uses 60 per cent less water than industry average.
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World's 10 greenest companies
Rank 6: BT Group
Country: United Kingdom
Type of business: Telecommunications
Green score: 80.4
The company has plans in place to reduce its carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2020, and has already reached a 54 percent reduction.
In 2004, BT announced the world's biggest purchase of 'green' electricity in a huge deal.
Under three-year contracts with British Gas and power worth several hundred million pounds, BT's depots, offices and 6,500 telephone exchanges was powered mainly from sustainable resources such as wave, solar, wind and hydroelectric schemes.
The deal saved emissions equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide produced by over 100,000 cars.
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World's 10 greenest companies
Rank 7: Tata Consultancy Services
Country: India
Type of business: Information Technology & Services
Green score: 79.1
In 2010, Tata reduced its carbon footprint by 14.07 per cent, reduced paper consumption by 34 per cent, and increased waste conversion to manure by 60 per cent.
All of the company's new buildings are designed to national and international standards, like LEED Green Buildings.
To dispose of waste, 16 of Tata's facilities have started composting and some others have bio-digesters, which can turn waste into methane fuel.
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World's 10 greenest companies
Rank 8: Infosys
Country: India
Type of business: Information Technology & Services
Green score: 77.3
Understanding that its buildings are the largest consumers of energy, Infosys undertook an aggressive plan to design all new buildings as green buildings.
For example, to reduce the office space required within its facilities, it has asked carpenters to come up with designs that promise to cut down the length or breadth of office furniture.
Similarly, performance of a window or a wall in reducing heat is measured and analysed.
Artificial lights have been replaced by luminescent lighting that consumes less energy.
The right building design and alignment have also helped reduce ambient heating by sunlight and led to a substantial reduction in cooling requirements.
Sensors are deployed to automatically turn off lights, monitors, and IP phones when employees are not at their desks.
Similarly, a conference room management solution automatically turns off all electrical appliances and lights when not in use.
Further, to increase awareness, the firm has also developed green applications such as a desktop-based personal carbon calculator, an enterprise level Carbon Emission Management System and an organisation level Environment Resource Management System.
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World's 10 greenest companies
Rank 9: Philips
Country: Netherlands
Type of business: Capital Goods
Green score: 77.2
The company has launched a series of environmental programmes since 1994.
Its current programme EcoVision4, was announced in 2007.
EcoVision4 aims to achieve many goals, including investing Euro1 billion in Green Innovations and increasing energy efficiency by 25 per cent.
The company sells many energy-efficient products and the majority of them are made through the EcoDesign process.
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World's 10 greenest companies
Rank 10: Swisscom
Country: Switzerland
Type of business: Telecommunications
Green score: 77
Swisscom introduced the world's first solar-powered phone in 2009.
The company uses 100 per cent renewable energy.
The company's Mistral system uses fresh air to cool its television exchanges instead of air conditioners.
The company offers many environmentally-friendly devices, such as the Ecomode cordless phone, which does not emit any radiation when in standby mode.
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