Greenpeace Scores “Greenness” of IT Companies

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It’s no secret that the Information Technology (IT) industry uses a massive amount of energy, manufacturing, transporting and just running.

That’s where Greenpeace‘s “Cool IT Leaderboard” comes in. For the the third time, Greenpeace has measured the environmental efforts of the world’s 15 leading IT companies using three primary metrics: solutions, footprint, and advocacy. As Greenpeace notes, as much as the IT sector contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, it is also positioned to be a leader in the charge against it because of its global influence and technical know-how. It is particularly important now that these companies work to curb their footprint, since they are increasingly relying on “cloud-based” computing—data centers with a troubling environmental impact.

Greenpeace gives companies points in three categories: Climate Solutions, Company Footprint, and Political Advocacy. The scoring criteria are as follows:

Climate Solutions criteria represent 50 out of 100 points, divided as follows:
• 25 points: Company makes public the calculations of current net GHG emissions savings provided by IT solution(s) to other parts of the economy via case study data.
• 15 points: Company makes public the explanation of metrics and assumptions used to calculate the net GHG emissions savings of their solutions.
• 10 points: Company sets ambitious short-term targets for growth of their net GHG emissions savings from IT solutions.

Company Footprint represent 15 out of 100 points, divided as follows:
• 10 points: Company makes commitment to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions of its own operations on a defined timeline. Maximum points awarded to companies with absolute reduction goals of at least 20 percent by 2012 using a 2008 or earlier baseline.
• 5 points: Amount of renewable energy used as proportion of total electricity use in own operation. Maximum awarded to renewable use greater than 25 percent of total, or has a target in excess of 25 percent by 2012.

Political Advocacy represents 35 out of 100 points, divided as follows:
• 10 points: Political Position: Public speech, preferably by the CEO, that references the need for science-based, mandatory greenhouse gas reduction cuts made to a relevant national or international audience.
• 15 points: Political Advocacy: Demonstrated lobby for science-based, mandatory greenhouse gas reduction cuts at the national or international level.
• 10 points: Repetition Bonus: Measures the the repetition of positive speech and advocacy.

So how do the companies measure up?

The best:
Cisco was the leader of the pack, scoring 62 out of 100 thanks largely to its aggressive emissions reduction targets and smart grid use. Interestingly, Cisco has not been as vocal about its eco-efforts as its lower-scoring competitors—proving there’s a big difference between going green and greenwashing. Ericsson, too, scored unexpectedly high, earning a 53 for its thorough emissions assessments and leadership at
Copenhagen.

The controversial:
Long regarded as a green leader in the IT industry, Google sunk to sixth in this year’s report, a shift that is generating lots of buzz. The company’s fall from grace isn’t quite as dramatic as it seems, though. Though it was knocked for its lack of transparency and
reduction targets, it still got top marks for its advocacy work.

The worst:
Panasonic and Sony have a lot of work to do—they scored 14 and 16 out of 100, respectively. While both companies have some green efforts in place, they were knocked for not providing clear solutions or living up to proposed efficiency changes.

It’s interesting that in the study, even the highest-scoring company received what would ordinarily be considered a failing grade. The overall low scores prove that while the IT industry is making important strides in the green fight, it still has a long way to go.

Tagged as: Google, Greenpeace, Information Technology, Sony