Forbes’ second annual Net Zero Leaders list highlights the 100 U.S. public companies that are best positioning themselves to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions and ultimately offset them by 2050. That includes efforts to achieve net-zero emissions in three categories: the companies' own emissions (known in sustainability circles as Scope 1); the emissions resulting from their use of electric power (Scope 2); and the emissions resulting from all of the companies' activities, including suppliers' emissions and the waste created as consumers use their products.
The list leverages data from research providers Sustainalytics and Morningstar, which consider a wide range of company initiatives and overall progress. Those include companies' management structure regarding risk assessment, governance, strategy and metrics, as well as investments in capital projects that advance sustainability goals. Its financial strength to withstand industry competition and economic upsets is also considered.
Topping this year’s list is Philip Morris International, up from No. 7 last year, followed by Johnson & Johnson, which did not appear on last year's list. Other big movers included Tesla, which jumped from No. 71 on last year's list to No. 3 this year; The Clorox Co., which rose from No. 98 to No. 17; and Microchip Technology Inc., an Arizona-based integrated circuit manufacturing company that rose from No. 33 to No. 6.
Philip Morris International, which is transitioning to smoke-free products such as heated tobacco, chewing tobacco, oral nicotine items, and vapes, plans to have more than two-thirds of its revenue from alternative products by 2030. It is on track to be carbon-neutral for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by next year, says Jennifer Motles, PMI's chief sustainability officer. For Scope 3, it plans to be net zero by 2040.
For a company with as much agricultural investment as Philip Morris International, net zero isn't just about reducing emissions. "It's also about preserving natural ecosystems and biodiversity," Motles says, adding that the company wants to become "forest positive" by completely eliminating deforestation from its paper supply chain and investing in replanting. "That reforestation can serve to create carbon credits that can contribute to whatever emissions are unavoidable from our Scope 1 and 2."
