Because this type of comprehensive environmental measurement and comparison have never been done before, it would be expected that the whole project might draw criticism from a number of different experts and groups that each evaluate greenness and environmental responsibility from their own unique perspective. Newsweek might have saved itself from many of its critics, however, just because its methodology is so complicated.
There are so many contributing factors that went into this ranking list that it's hard to pick apart any one thing, and even harder to grasp the validity of their measurements as a whole. As the first comprehensive green ranking of its kind, if nothing else, this list creates a starting point. The methodologies that are used to rank environmental responsibility will undoubtedly become more refined as "greenness" becomes more defined.
In general, Newsweek chose the 500 largest U.S. companies and created a number which quantified each company's environmental performance, their environmental policies, and their green reputation. Performance and policies were weighted with 45% each, and reputation contributed just 10% to each company's overall "Green Score." That is a gross oversimplification of Newsweek's methodology, but at least it shows that green actions and intentions were more important than green image (or greenwashing) in this ranking.
What follows is the list of companies with U.S. retail operations that were included in the Newsweek 2010 Green Rankings. The number in the left column indicates the ranking that each company was given, out of 500 companies rated. The list is arranged in descending order according to these rankings. Although the list was published by Newsweek in September, 2010, the companies were evaluated based on their green performance, policies and reputation in the 2009 calendar year.
U.S. Retail Industry Green Rankings 2010, According to Newsweek Magazine:
2 Dell
7 Nike
10 Starbucks
15 Sprint Nextel
18 Kohl's
20 Staples
22 McDonald's
25 Avon Products
34 Walt Disney
38 Gap
44 JCPenney
50 Macy's
59 Wal-Mart
61 Best Buy
67 Whole Foods Market
70 Limited Brands
72 Target
76 eBay
79 Google
94 Sunoco
98 Tiffany
100 Marathon Oil
101 Verizon Communications
108 Ford
116 Big Lots
117 Lowe's
126 AT&T
131 Amazon.com
133 Apple
136 Nordstrom
148 BJ's Wholesale Club
150 Darden Restaurants
151 American Eagle Outfitters
161 Kroger
166 Radio Shack
167 TJX
174 CVS Caremark
175 Foot Locker
180 Safeway
181 Wendy's/Arby's Group
185 Burger King Holdings
191 Supervalu
192 Ross Stores
194 Yum! Brands
195 CarMax
200 Costco
207 Sears Holdings
222 Harley-Davidson
224 Bed Bath & Beyond
228 GameStop
230 Polo Ralph Lauren
235 Walgreens
238 ConocoPhillips
241 Goodyear Tire & Rubber
242 Abercrombie & Fitch
243 Family Dollar Stores
246 Sherwin-Williams
254 Home Depot
282 Urban Outfitters
293 Dollar Tree
318 Petsmart
326 Coach
341 Goodrich
346 Hess
371 Chevron
382 AutoZone
394 Advance Auto Parts
425 Sunoco
457 Genuine Parts
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