IBM, Dell and Coke among green giants

IBM, Dell and Coca-Cola score among the highest in a new study of climate-friendly companies, while Apple, Burger King and apparel maker Abercrombie & Fitch rank among the worst.

The study released Thursday by the Boston-based Ceres investor advisory and advocacy group indicates that the technology industry is at the top of the list when it comes to addressing climate change, reducing greenhouse gases and using environmentally sensitive practices. The hotel industry is at the bottom.

In its study, Ceres and RiskMetrics Group ranked 63 of the world’s biggest technology and consumer-related companies on how they’re addressing climate change, accounting for greenhouse gas emissions and planning for the future.

“These are companies that have a great influence over how we go about our daily lives,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, which advises institutional investors.

Many big institutional investors care about how companies address climate change issues not just because they want to do the right thing. Under new regulations in some states and federal proposals in Washington, companies could soon be forced to limit their carbon emissions and be fined or forced to buy credits if they exceed those limits. Also, reducing corporate energy costs and planning for future potential energy shortages means reducing overall expenses —- something investors like to see.

Lubber said many companies are doing a better job of making climate change part of their business strategies. But for others, she added, the issue is barely a consideration.

More than half of the companies surveyed by Ceres scored under 50 points on a 100-point scale. The median score was 38 points.

Although Atlanta-based Coca-Cola is a huge user of water and energy, it ranked high, 65, because its top executives have made addressing climate change a priority, according to Ceres. Coca-Cola also got high marks for its energy-efficiency programs and its efforts to use more environmentally friendly refrigeration systems.

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, scored a 77 on the Ceres ranking —- second only to IBM among technology companies. It got high marks for becoming the first carbon-neutral computer maker, mainly by buying electricity from renewable sources and reducing and offsetting its carbon emissions. Its 2.1-million-square-foot headquarters north of Austin, for instance, is powered entirely by electricity produced from wind farms and landfill gases.

At the other end of the spectrum, Ohio-based apparel maker Abercrombie & Fitch scored a zero on the Ceres rankings because the company and its executives have done virtually nothing to address climate change, according to the group.

Apple, which is often lauded for its cool and hip designs but lambasted by environmentalists, scored a 28, the lowest of any technology company on the list. Apple got poor marks because top executives have done relatively little publicly to try to reduce the company’s environmental impact and because it doesn’t disclose its carbon emissions.

Officials from Abercrombie & Fitch and Apple did not respond to a reporter’s request for comment.

Among other companies, Atlanta-based Home Depot scored 15 of 100 in the rankings; Austin-based Whole Foods Market, 27; Starbucks, 52; and McDonald’s, 26.

For many big companies, addressing climate change is as much a business decision as it is an environmental decision.