The 'Greenest' Companies in America

The following was submitted as a response to Newsweek's recent article on the '100 Greenest Companies in America':





I was surprised to open the recent issue of Newsweek (Oct 25, 2010) and find Coca-Cola, Raytheon, and McDonald’s listed in the top 100 ‘Greenest Companies in America’ (ranked 54th, 75th, and 79th respectively).  I understand that your ranking system used many experts, numerical metrics, and number-crunching algorithms, but what about common sense?  How is it that a company substantially involved in promoting obesity, a weapons manufacturer, and a fast food chain are ranked so highly?


When promoting environmental stewardship we cannot loose sight of what these companies do, regardless of how they do it.  Otherwise, we could pat ourselves on the back for clubbing baby seals with sustainably harvested  trees.


Sincerely,


Joe Norman