Toyota, Tesla, Vestas, DONG Energy and Panasonic are among the top ranked companies in the first ever Carbon Clean 200 list, which claims the world’s greenest large companies are outperforming their more polluting counterparts by as much as three to one.
Published today, the inaugural Clean 200 ranks the largest publicly listed companies worldwide by their total clean energy revenues, as rated by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, with the list dominated by firms from China and the US.
To qualify, companies must have a market capitalisation of at least $1bn and generate 10 per cent of their revenues from clean sources.
More than 70 of the companies included in the list receive a majority of their revenue from clean energy, the rankings show, with most of the 200 from China (66 entries) and the US (40), although there is also strong representation from Japan (20), Germany (8), India (7) and Canada (5).
Toyota Motor tops the list closely followed by Siemens, while there are also strong showings for Schneider Electric (4), Panasonic (5), Vestas Wind (7), Philips Lighting (8), DONG Energy (11), Tesla Motors (17), Gamesa (18), First Solar (19) and Samsung(23).
There are only two UK companies in the list – Atlantics Yield (ranked 92), which co-invests in renewable energy assets primarily in Europe and North America, and Reading-based Dialog Semiconductor (159), which is involved in the power management and smart meter sectors.
The list excludes all oil and gas companies and utilities which generate less than 50 per cent of their power from renewable sources, as well as companies which engage in “negative climate lobbying” or profit from tropical deforestation, weapons manufacturing, and the use of child and/or forced labour.
The rankings are included in a report by non-profit organisation As You Sow and market research firm Corporate Knights, which plan to update the list quarterly to serve as an opposing accompaniment to the ‘Carbon Underground 200’ ranking of fossil fuel companies being targeted for divestment.
Comparing the two lists shows those listed in the Clean200 rankings achieved a stimulated annualised return of 21.82 per cent over the past decade, which is around three times the 7.84 per cent return achieved by companies in the Carbon Underground list over the same period, according to Corporate Knights.
“The Clean200 nearly tripled the performance of its fossil fuel reserve-heavy counterpart over the past 10 years, showing that clean energy companies are providing concrete and measurable rewards to investors,” said Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights and report co-author.
“What’s more, the outstanding performance of this list shows that the notion that investors must sacrifice returns when investing in clean energy is outdated. Many clean energy investments are profitable now, and we anticipate that over the long term their appeal will only go up as technologies improve and more investors move away from under performing fossil fuel companies.”
The 21.82 per cent return generated by companies in the Clean200 list was due in large part to significant exposure to Chinese clean energy companies which have experienced considerable growth, the report authors said.
“Our intention with the Clean200 is to begin a conversation that defines what companies will be part of the clean energy future,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow and the report’s co-author. “The Clean200 turns the ‘carbon bubble’ inside out. The list is far from perfect, but begins to show how it’s possible to accelerate and capitalize on the greatest energy transition since the industrial revolution.”
Source: theguardian.com
