Redacción
Telefónica has placed 15th in the annual ranking of the world’s greenest companies compiled by the American magazine, Newsweek. It has therefore moved up 24 spots in the ranking since last year, when it was in 39th place.
The company has also held on to its status as the highest ranking of the eight Spanish firms included on the global list, made up of the 500 largest companies in the world by market capitalisation and number of employees as of 30 April 2012.
The global Newsweek Green Ranking awarded Telefónica a score of 79.8 points out of 100 (in 2011 it achieved 72.4) thanks to its eco-efficiency initiatives in the use of resources such as energy and, in general, its management of green issues, as well as its transparency in these areas through specialised verification of the information it provides to investors. The Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Office and the environmental and energy teams from each country are working on all these issues.
Green ICTs are an engine of growth for the company since, as all the sector’s analysts are noting, savings and revenues are being boosted in the telecommunications sector thanks, in Telefónica’s case, to energy efficiency, green ICT services and the global smart cities model. In the ranking by Newsweek, Telefónica is in fourth position in the telecommunications sector, as compared with its seventh place last year.
For the first time in its history, the global list is headed by three companies from emerging markets: Banco Santander and Banco Bradesco, in Brazil, and Wipro, the Indian IT company. Telefónica Brazil was ranked 20th.
In general, Newsweek noted an improvement in environmental transparency during its research, conducted in conjunction with the firms Trucost and Sustainalytics.
Over 85% of the companies included in the ranking provide information on these issues, which is 20% more than the previous year.
