the biz | green stocks report
SB20 Lists World’s Top Sustainable Stocks
Leading companies made green business profitable, even during the recession.
By RONA FRIED, Ph.D.
Rona Fried, Ph.D., is
president of Sustainable
Business.com, the online
community for green
business: daily sustainable business and investor news, Green Dream
Jobs, Business Connections and the sustainable
investing newsletter,
Progressive Investor.
Contact Fried at rona@
sustainablebusiness.com.
Consult your financial
advisor before making
any investment.
For the past eight years, SustainableBusiness.com has worked with a group of leading green portfolio analysts;to;select;the;SB20,;a;list;of;the;world’s;top
sustainable stocks. The judges choose 20 publicly traded
companies — a mix of small, medium and large businesses
from around the world and across industries — that stand
out as innovative, model enterprises leading us to a green
economy.
Looking;back,;2006;stands;out;as;a;landmark;year.;It
was the first time more than half the list consisted of clean
energy companies — leaders in wind, solar, geothermal,
biomass and efficiency. Hundreds of renewable energy
companies rushed onto the public markets that year. Before
that,;we;were;lucky;to;find;a;few;dozen.;The;next;year,;in
2007,;so;many;fast-growing;solar;companies;entered;the
markets, it became difficult to tell them apart.
This year, when many companies feel lucky to still be in
business, our judges were tasked with selecting companies
that have continued to grow, even during the recession.
For;2009,;we;looked;for;leadership.;We;asked;tough
questions:
-;Does;the;company;stand;out;from;its;peers;as;a;model,
either for its technology or for its green internal operations
and product lines?
-;Does;the;company;have;the;potential;to;make;a;big
impact?
- Is the company profitable or on a clear path toward
profitability?
Leaders;in;each;category;rose;to;the;top.;Amid;the
struggle;and;turmoil;of;2009,;First;Solar;( firstsolar.com;
FSLR);became;the;uncontested;leader;in;photovoltaics.
Vestas;( vestas.com;;VWSYF);and;Gamesa;(gamesacorp.
com/en; GAM) were the clear picks in wind. Ormat (ormat
.com; ORA) stood alone in geothermal. Although we continued to find important new names for the list, such as
Westport;Innovations;( westport.com;;WPRT);in;trans-port;and;Pure;Technologies;in;water;infrastructure;(pure
technologiesltd.com; PUR), established names dominated
this;year’s;SB20.
This year our judges were tasked with selecting companies
that have continued to grow, even during the recession.
The same holds true for our Corporate Pioneers —
companies producing conventional products or services
using new, greener operations and product lines. The most
innovative;companies;from;past;SB20;lists;are;back:;Philips
Electronics ( philips.com; PHG) in lighting, Chipotle Mexican Grill ( chipotle.com; CMG) in food, Google (google.
The 2009 SB20 List
Corporate Pioneer (CP)
Ticker Sector
NASDAQ: FSLR Solar
VWS.CO; V WDRY.PK Wind
GAM.MC; GC TAF.PK Wind
Company Name
First Solar
Vestas Wind Systems
Gamesa Corporacion
Technologica
Ormat Technologies
WaterFurnace
Renewable Energy
Telvent Git, SA
Novozymes A/S
NYSE: ORA
WFI.TO; WFIFF.PK
Nasdaq: TLVT
NZ YMB.CO; NVZMF.PK
Westport Innovations WP T. TO; WPRT
Pure Technologies PUR.V
Naturex SA NRX.PA; NNTUXF.PK
United Natural Foods Nasdaq: UNFI
Chipotle Mexican Grill NYSE: CMG
Plant Health Care plc PHC.L; PLHCF. PK
Bendigo and Adelaide BEN.AX
Bank
Novo Nordisk
Google
IBM
Herman Miller
Koninklijke Philips
Electronics
Timberland NYSE: TBL
Geothermal
Geothermal Heat
Pumps
Smart Grid
Industrial/
Cellulosic Ethanol
Transportation
Water
Food
Food
CP/ Food
Agriculture
CP/ Finance
NOVO B.CO; N YSE: NVO CP/ Pharmaceuticals
Nasdaq: GOOG CP/ Technology
NYSE: IBM CP/ Technology
Nasdaq: MLHR CP/ Green Building
NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHIA CP/ Green Building
CP/ Apparel
Copyright © 2009 by the American Solar Energy Society Inc. All rights reserved.
com/corporate; GOOG) and IBM ( ibm.com; IBM) in
technology. These companies continue to innovate and
progress along their sustainability curve even during the
recession, and many outperformed financially.
Take;IBM.;The;company;crafted;its;first;environmental
policy;way;back;in;1971;and;produced;its;first;Sustainabil-
ity Report in 1990. A long history of implementing green
design, environmental management systems and stringent
supplier standards has made IBM a leading example of the
kind of company I believe we’ll see much more of in the
near future: multinational businesses where sustainability
has quietly become a core driver. IBM has moved aggressively into smart-grid, intelligent transportation systems,
energy efficiency and carbon footprint consulting. The
company is way ahead of the pack in terms of greening
its internal operations and is one of the leading buyers of
renewable;energy;in;the;United;States.;One;of;our;judges,
Rafael Coven, managing director of Cleantech Indices
( cleantech.com;;CTIUS),;sees;IBM;becoming;the;leading
player in environmental information management. ST
