That’s the question that researchers at Newsweek magazine have been asking over the past 18 months during their quest to create the inaugural NEWSWEEK Green Rankings list.

Assisted by KLD Research & Analytics, Trucost, and CorporateRegister.com, they have analysed and ranked the environmental performance, policies, practices and reputations of the S&P 500 largest US companies.

The results, published in a 12-page special section in the September 28th issue of Newsweek (and also online at Newsweek.com), make for interesting reading.

Technology companies dominated the top of the list while energy, utility and coal-mining companies sat primarily at the bottom of the list. And only one oil company made the top 100.

According to Newsweek’s Green Rankings, highest green honors go to technology company Hewlett Packard, followed closely by Dell, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, IBM, State Street, Nike, Briston-Myers Squibb, Applied Materials…and Starbucks.

Many will argue that despite the extensive research, analysis and evaluations these rankings are imperfect. After all, comparing environmental performance across industries is a tricky business. Not all industries exact an equal environmental toll.

But you have to applaud the team at Newsweek for making an effort and trying to provide a snapshot of how green (or not green) America’s largest companies are.

The full Green Ranking list can be seen here. Check it out. You might be surprised to discover the amount of effort and actions that many of these companies are engaged in.

The post Newsweek’s Green Ranking List appeared first on EcoSalon.