Fortune magazine Wednesday unveiled a special report listing 10 companies it says go beyond what the law requires to operate in an environmentally responsible way.
The magazine's “10 Green Giants" list is made up of: Honda, Continental Airlines, Suncor, Tesco, Alcan, PG&E, S.C. Johnson, Goldman Sachs, Swiss RE and Hewlett-Packard.
There were 100 companies nominated by environmentalists and consultants, and Fortune decided to concentrate on bigger firms because their environmental footprint is more important. Fortune also left out GE and Wal-Mart, "whose environmental initiatives have been widely covered."
The magazine contends that while big business and the environmental movement used to be arch enemies, "today big companies and activists are at least as apt to hammer out a partnership over a cup of sustainably grown coffee as to confront one another in court. No, they do not always see eye to eye, but the areas of common ground are getting broader. Why? For one thing, because there is money to be made.”