A new Climate Counts scorecard shows that the pharmaceutical sector is leading the way on industry climate commitment. The new Climate Counts scorecard found that the sector as a whole received the highest scores of any of the 14 sectors yet scored by Climate Counts. Over 87% of the companies scored as “striding”—the highest level in the Climate Counts ranking system. AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson led the industry, receiving 76 and 75 points, respectively. Yet it wasn’t all good news. Most companies still had a lot of work to do, particularly in reducing their carbon pollution.

“The high climate marks earned by the pharmaceutical industry are yet more proof that climate action and profit can be the prescription for climate change. Still, while the sector has done well at measuring its impact and talking about climate change, we’re still not seeing the kinds of greenhouse gas emissions reductions we’d expect. When it comes to leadership, strong corporate voices matter. But results matter more,” said Wood Turner, Climate Counts Executive Director.

Climate Counts scored 16 of the top pharmaceutical manufacturers (by revenue) on their actions to address climate change. The companies are scored on a 0-to-100 point scale based on 22 criteria that measure companies’ efforts to assess their own climate footprint, reduce their emissions, support (or block) progress on major climate legislation and communicate their efforts clearly and comprehensively to consumers.

Key findings include:
AstraZeneca (76) was the sector leader with Johnson & Johnson (75) close behind. 14 companies placed in the Climate Counts “striding” category with scores over 50—more than any other sector. The sector’s average score of 55.6 was also the highest of the sectors yet scored by Climate Counts.

The pharmaceutical sector is scoring well on the “review” and “report” categories on the scorecard, but most companies are losing points in the “reduce” category and even more so in the “policy” section. Wyeth (36) and Amgen (20) placed in the “starting” category and were the lowest scorers in the sector.

“There is no doubt that we’re pleased with the relatively strong climate performance of the pharmaceutical sector, but clearly there is a lot of work to be done. We’re ready to see that investing profits in climate protection has paid off for these companies,” said Turner.

Date: June 5, 2009
Source: Climate Counts