Slow Company Gains Seen in Latest Climate Counts Scorecard

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) MANCHESTER, NH - August 19, 2010  – The latest Climate Counts scorecard shows that companies continue to improve their climate commitment, but their pace is far slower than what is required to meet the climate challenge. The group – a non-profit launched in 2007 with support from organics pioneer Stonyfield Farm – announced the updated evaluations of 47 companies in the pharmaceutical, home and office furnishing, toys and children’s equipment and large appliance sectors (another group of nearly 100 companies scored by the group in 12 other sectors will be released in November). This round of scoring showed broad improvement, with 30 companies increasing their score; Kenmore (Sears Holdings Corporation, up 29 points), Lego (up 22 points) and AB Electrolux (up 19 points) improved the most. Many improvements were small, however, with 32 of 47 companies either losing ground, not improving, or raising their scores less than five points.   

“This is our first scorecard release after both the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the Senate’s failure to pass meaningful climate legislation, and the results are disappointing,” said Climate Counts Executive Director Wood Turner. “Small improvements will not meet this challenge—we need real innovative leadership to solve the climate crisis, and as large investors in renewable energy technology begin to turn away from the US to other parts of the world more poised to lead, the implications for slow-moving business are certainly concerning.”    Climate Counts scored 47 of the top sector companies (by revenue) on their actions to address climate change. The companies are scored on a 0-to-100 point scale based on 22 criteria that measure companies’ efforts to assess their own climate footprint, reduce their emissions, support (or block) progress on major climate legislation, and communicate their efforts clearly and comprehensively to consumers. The full scorecard is available at www.climatecounts.org     Key findings include:  -          Steelcase (home/office furnishings), AstraZeneca (pharmaceuticals), Whirlpool (large appliances) and Hasbro (toys and children’s equipment) were sector leaders. -          The toys and children’s equipment sector had the lowest overall sector score, and 8 of 14 of those companies scored zero points. -          The pharmaceutical sector had the highest overall score in this round, with 11 of 13 companies earning Climate Counts’ “Striding” designation (scores of 50 points or higher).     “As a parent, I’m astonished that the toys and children’s equipment sector continues to be the worst we score,” continued Turner. “It really is time for concerned parents to make their voices heard and let these companies know that avoiding climate action is unacceptable. The climate crisis is the greatest threat to our children’s and grandchildren’s future safety and prosperity, and parents can have the same success with companies on climate change that they have had in improving company behavior on product safety and toxics.”    The organization’s call for innovation reflects its increased focus on challenging companies to become leaders in the fight against climate change. Earlier this year, Climate Counts launched its Industry Innovators (i2) initiative, allowing companies to go through the rigorous Climate Counts benchmarking system voluntarily. The group also released an iPhone application to help consumers not only access company climate scores while shopping but also send messages to those companies about their scores. The content and functionality of that application will soon be available on a variety of smart phone platforms.  ### About Climate Counts Climate Counts is a non-profit organization bringing consumers and companies together in the fight against global climate change. Launched with financial support from organics pioneer Stonyfield Farm, the Climate Counts Company Scorecard was developed with oversight from a panel of business and climate experts from leading non-governmental organizations and academic institutions. Criteria were chosen for their effectiveness at accomplishing a single goal – solving the global climate crisis. Since 2007, Climate Counts researchers have used these criteria to now rate the climate actions of nearly 150 companies (representing approximately 3,000 brands) in 16 industry sectors. Companies are given the opportunity to confirm or provide public data sources. Information on all scored companies is available at www.climatecounts.org .