Welcome to Eco500 -- Expert Evaluation
of Environmental Content in Corporate Websites.
The eco500 team of communication and environment specialists set out to
discover how
effectively the world's largest companies use the Internet to communicate
about and demonstrate commitment to environmental protection.
The results of the research, undertaken by the PlanetBound team as part of a private study, are shared with Internet users
as a public service. If you would like to ask about the ratings on our
site, please write to us at: team@eco500.com.
Using Fortune Magazine's Global 500 list (April 2000) of leading revenue
earners worldwide, the Eco500 team evaluated each company's website
according to ten criteria (see
detailed analysis). These included factual
data (e.g., whether a corporate environmental policy and report are
presented), and also subjective evaluations of design and interface (e.g.,
prominence of environmental content). The results were remarkably
interesting!
Each Fortune 500 company is at a different [stage] (in italics) of website
development. Some sites are still limited to "basic presence", with no
interactive features, while others have reached a sophisticated level of
interactivity. The quality and effectiveness of environmental content varies widely -- by company and industry sector.
In the electronics sector, our top-ranked company scored a perfect 100,
while the low-ranked company received a 0. In the insurance sector, the
top company scored 95, and the lowest was again at 0. The top-ranked company in the banking sector received a 90; the lowest scored 0.
In our initial analysis, Japanese firms were seen to be taking the lead in using corporate websites to promote their environmental activities. Top overall was the Japanese site of electronics manufacturer NEC, the only corporate website that we determined to rate a full 100 points.
Of the 40 industrial sectors represented in the Fortune Global 500, the
following led the way in online environmental communication:
The following 5 sectors ranked last with 0 points overall:
Some interesting highlights of our study.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ECO500 REPORT: GENERAL DIFFERENCES: LEVEL OF DETAIL, FORMAT:
The ways companies communicate about their environmental activities vary widely. General differences include:
・Level of detail;
・Some companies have a dedicated, highly visible environment section on their website, others do not;
・Some divide environmental content into two sections (often "corporate information" and "community activities"), making environmental content less visible. Groupe Danone divides its environmental information between "company info" and "social responsibility" sections;
・There are companies (primarily Japanese) who limit their environmental sections to ISO 14001-related information;
・The most common scenario is for companies to provide an environment section but no environmental report. However, some companies (e.g., UBS and Man) limit environmental content to an electronic version of their environmental report;
・Some companies that post no environmental report (e.g., Royal & Sun Alliance, Thyssen Krupp, and Marks & Spencer) do have an environmental sectionwithin their Annual Report. (In some cases, this is the only environmental content on their website).
GOING DEEPER: KEY ASPECTS OF "GREEN COMMUNICATION" ON CORPORATE WEBSITES
**Some companies go an extra mile in terms of detail and development of environmental website information; the most impressive "green communication" examples are marked below with a double asterisk (**) .
CORPORATE WEBSITES AND "GREEN ACTION"
**Commerzbank is a rare example of a company selling environmentally friendly products via the web (a milk frothing machine operated by solar technology);
**European companies are more likely to mention environmental audits. One example is Volkswagen, which lists its plants audited under the EC Eco-Audit program. Tesco and Roche also stress green audit achievements;
**Nippon Express mentions that uniforms of its parcel delivery staff are made from recycled materials-- illustrated with a photo of an employee proudly wearing a recycled uniform;
--Sharp mentions that it uses stickers on company vehicles and employee cars, declaring an anti-idling policy.
CORPORATE - NGO PARTNERSHIPS
**Novartis promotes a foundation for sustainable development on its site;
**Companies like British Airways (BA), TransCanada Pipelines, and the ASDA Group stress their ongoing support for NGOs. For example, BA has a "BA Assisting Conservation" program, and TransCanada notes its work in partnership with the Tree Canada Foundation. ASDA states that it joined the WWF 1995+ Group to save world forests;
**Henkel promotes an eco-sponsorship budget;
TRANSPARENCY AND INTERACTIVITY **Interesting, though rare, are companies like Eastman Kodak and Reliant Energy, who openly discuss environmental penalties they have suffered;
--Shell has a highly interactive website, with an uncensored forum for users entitled "Environmental Issues and Performance." Its "An Independent View" section also features third party comments on its environmental report;
--Chevron is one of a few companies which stresses that it uses the environment as an element in advertising strategy.
AWARDS, PRIZES, SPONSORSHIP
--Companies like Chevron offer awards ("Chevron Conservation Awards"), or prizes (e.g., "Volvo Eco-Prize");
SPECIAL SITE FEATURES
--Volvo has a dedicated site map for its environmental section and a questionnaire related to its environmental report; Swiss Reinsurance also has a questionnaire;
--Sainsbury has a dedicated search feature in its environmental section;
--Ford Motor provides a sophisticated search feature in conjunction with "Earth 911", enabling users to obtain battery recycling information by entering their U.S. zip code;
--AT & T includes games and educational content in an innovative environmental section;
--Chubu Electric Power has a section for children called "eco-land"; we judged the content to be interesting even for adults;
--Kimberly-Clark gives a list of its year's eco-objectives, and showcases a project called "newlywed tree planting", in which newlyweds plant a tree as a symbol of hope for the future;
--McDonald's provides electronic brochures on the environment for downloading. It also presents its worldwide environmental activities with graphics, using a world map that shows where activities are taking place;
CORPORATE "GREEN COMMUNICATION" AND INVESTOR RELATIONS
--Philips has an extensive environmental website buried in its Investor Relations section. While difficult to find, it highlights the trend toward "green communication" as good investor relations-- environmental performance has a growing impact on share price, due to the increasing importance of "green" and ethics-conscious investors;
ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND THE CORPORATE WEBSITE
**Reliant Energy notes that staff engineers and scientists often find## environmentally-friendly options to be money-savers.
--Some companies (e.g., Roche, Enel, and Legal & General) point out that the environment is an important factor affecting economic competitiveness;
ENVIRONMENTAL THOUGHT AND INFORMATION
--Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance produced a small book entitled, "Yasuda Kasai Eco-Life Declaration" that can be ordered through its website. The book explains how to lead an environmentally friendly life. (Within the insurance industry, Yasuda received a high score-- 90);
-- Southern invites everyone to pitch in to help protect the environment, stressing that every little bit helps. Its section entitled "Find a Way to Help the Rainforest" gives ideas about how one can contribute to rainforest preservation;
--Canon, Kansai Electric Power and Japan Airlines present thoughts about global environmental events as they relate to Japan and their companies. This puts companies' environmental activity in a global, temporal context;
--Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance provides information on Japan's environmental situation, and stresses that their data have appeared in the Financial Times environmental liability report;
--Like many European companies, Nokia mentions the important role played by the Brundtland Commission; Nokia and Akzo Nobel also refer to the International Chamber of Commerce and its 16 principles for environmental management, contained in the Business Charter for Sustainable Development;
--Some companies, like Wal-Mart, have a section dedicated to Earth Day;
LOGOS AND APPEARANCE
--SmithKline Beecham and Henkel are companies that make their environmental reports highly accessible and visually appealing;
--NEC and Samsung Electronics have developed environment-related logos;
JAPANESE COMPANIES AND ISO 14001 --Japanese companies are much more likely to use the ISO 14001 logo in websites; they give prominence to ISO 14001 compliance;
--Tohoku Electric Power displays an image of an employee standing in front of the camera, proudly displaying its 14001 certificate. Japanese companies do tend to use pictures of their certificates to show commitment to the environment -- this was not found with non-Japanese companies.
--Environmental sections on Japanese corporate sites are sometimes illustrated by the ISO logo. Nichimen has the logo on its top page--a click on it leads the visitor to the only environment-related information on the site;
--Nippon Steel stresses that they were the first Japanese steel company to receive ISO 14001 accreditation. Denso makes a similar claim as a Japanese motor vehicles and parts company, Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance makes a similar claim in the insurance sector, and Sakura Bank asserts this position in the Japanese banking industry.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Here are just a few specific indications of areas in which companies might improve their "green web communication."
--Sumitomo Metal Industries has an environmental report, but does not provide it on the website--users must send a message to receive a copy.
--Lowe's environmental content is difficult to locate; after some searching, it was found in "The Good Neighbour" section;
--General Electric's detailed Environmental Policy is an example of "hiding" an environmental feature from users who might appreciate it;
--Other sites have excellent environmental content, but only in PDF format. This may work for users with appropriate bandwidth, hardware, and plug-ins, but is more difficult for average web users;
ECO500: TAKING ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION A STEP FURTHER
This ongoing eco500 report is just a small part of PlanetBound Inc.'s environment-related environment-related information and consulting services. The Eco500 team offers environmental website consulting to corporate, government agencies, NGOs, and universities. Our firm also specializes in forming interdisciplinary project teams to provide comprehensive environmental consulting services to clients on a project basis. We are planning an extensive series of additional environmental projects and activities during the coming months. Check back often to see what's new at Eco500.com! We welcome your comments and feedback. Again, please address them to team@eco500.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
The eco500 team.