1.) Honda, Japan; Founded in 1945; Revenue: $84 Billion; Employees: 145,000
Honda is generally regarded as the most fuel-efficient auto company in the U.S.
While other automakers gripe, Honda attacks the issues of fuel economy and emissions with relish. Working independently, it is focusing on two alternative fuel technologies, the natural gas powered “Civic GX” and the hydrogen fuel cell “FCX.” Honda has also taken a crack at solving a problem other automakers have left to the oil companies: creating an infrastructure for hydrogen. Honda’s solution is for individual refueling stations that provide heat and electricity for the home as well as hydrogen for a fuel-cell-powered car. Long term, Honda wants to be the world’s cleanest, most efficient manufacturer. It has promised to reduce CO2 emissions from its factories as well as its vehicles by 5 percent between 2005 and 2010 – on top of the 5 percent it achieved between 2000 and 2005.
2.) Continental Airlines, Houston; Founded in 1934; Revenue: $13,1 Billion; Employees: 44,000
Continental worked with Boeing to engineer more fuel-efficient aircraft.
Amid rising concern about aviation pollution, British Airways introduced a “CO2 emission calculator” on its website, letting passengers pay to offset the carbon dioxide generated by their flights. Lufthansa recently equipped an Airbus A340 with a 1.5-ton mobile laboratory to track gases and compounds. But it is American airline Continental that’s gone furthest to green operations. Besides spending more than $16 billion over the past ten years to replace its fleet with more efficient aircraft, it installed fuel-saving winglets that reduce emissions by up to 5% on most of its Boeing 737s and 757s, and reduced the nitrogen oxide output from ground equipment at its Houston hub by over 75% since 2000. Its 13 full-time staff environmentalists work with engine manufacturers, design green terminals, and track carbon emissions and chemical recycling daily. Even all the trash from company headquarters is later sorted for recyclables.
3.) Tesco, Britain; Founded in 1919; Revenue: $71 Billion; Employees: 380,000
Tesco cut energy use and is trying to get customers to think green.
Wind-powered stores, high-tech recycling, biodiesel delivery trucks – Tesco does all that. Last year the company pledged to cut the average energy use in its British buildings in half by 2010; now it says it will get there two years early. State-of-the-art trains that have lower-than-normal noise and pollution reduce the use of trucks, slashing thousands of tons of carbon dioxide emissions; in a major store initiative, Tesco will estimate the “carbon costs” of each item. To ensure that its leadership walks the talk, Tesco now determines senior-management bonuses partly on meeting energy- and waste-reduction targets. Tesco is also encouraging customers to be greener by awarding points, redeemable for merchandise, to those who bring their own reusable shopping bags.
4.) PG&E, San Francisco; Founded in 1852; Revenue: $12.5 Billion; Employees: 20,000
PG & E has made strategic investments in efficiency and renewables.
PG&E Played a big role in getting mandatory controls on greenhouse gases enacted last year in California, and CEO Peter Darbee is now pushing for federal legislation.
The utility generates 56 percent of its retail electricity sales from non-greenhouse-gas-emitting sources, and it aggressively helps customers become more efficient. For instance, it subsidizes homeowners who buy energy-efficient appliances with $75 grants. PG&E is also experimenting with a variety of clean power alternatives. It is seeking permission to develop generation projects that could convert wave energy off the Pacific Coast into electricity. It is bullish on solar thermal technology, and it has a pilot project in the San Joaquin Valley in which cow manure is turned into electricity. “That’s a dung good idea,” cracks Darbee.
Jokes aside, Darbee is seriously excited about the prospect of plug-in hybrids that would draw power from the electricity grid at night and then feed power back into the grid during the day when demand peaks. These clean cars would burn less gasoline, pollute less and take advantage of the utility industry’s capital-intensive infrastructure. “The energy industry,” Darbee concludes, “is on the brink of a revolution.”
5.) Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA; Founded in 1939; Revenue: $92 Billion; Employees: 156,000
HP is the Silicon Valley’s longtime industry leader in eco-sensitivity.
High tech is falling all over itself to go green. It may be that Prius-driving engineering types are more eco-sensitive than the rest of us, or maybe they’re simply battling for competitive advantage. The fact is, as more of modern life goes digital, the environmental impact of those computers and gadgets has gone from negligible to considerable. Hewlett-Packard has done the most to mitigate that. HP owns massive e-waste recycling plants, where enormous shredders and granulators reduce four million pounds of computer detritus each month to bite-sized chunks – the first step in reclaiming not just steel and plastic but also toxic chemicals like mercury and even some precious metals. HP will take back any brand of equipment; its own machines are 100 percent recyclable. It has promised to cut energy consumption by 20 percent by 2010. HP also audits its top suppliers for eco-friendliness, and its omnibus Global Citizenship Report sets the standard for detailed environmental accountability.
Loading ...
