Getting StartedGreen Companies
| How to identify a green company? | How to research the efforts of that green company? |
| 5 minute video tutorial | Ask a Librarian |
| Related Guides |
How do I identify an environmentally conscious company?
Search for business environmental news:
- Business Source Premier - search“Green Business” as a subject heading ABI/Inform Complete
- search Environment AND Business
- search "corporate profiles" AND "environmental protection"
Here's an article that I retrieved from ABI/Inform Complete that lists ten large companies who are making environmental strides:
Gunther, M. (2007, April). 10 Green Giants. Fortune, 155(6), 44-50. Retrieved from ProQuest ABI/INFORM Complete database.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) runs a number of partnership programs with businesses and other organizations.
I recommend checking out the EPA website for the National Environmental Performance Track. This program recognizes companies that are leaders in environmental performance above and beyond the basic EPA regulations. The directory of companies that participate in this program is hosted online. In the directory, click one of the browse links (I liked either “By Facility Name” or “By State”).You could also check out some of the other EPA programs and find participating companies. For example, the Green Power Partnership or Energy Star programs also had good online information.
How can I find out more about a company’s environmental efforts?
- If you picked your company from the EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track page, you can get their report that summarizes their programs. Just click on the company name when you are selecting them from the directory. Note: the last sections of the report specifically cover how the company is disclosing (and/or marketing!) their environmental efforts to the public.
- Visit the company’s website to find environmental policies and statements. Again, if you have the EPA NEPT report, their websites will be listed.
- If you have a hard time finding an official site for your company, look them up in the library’s LexisNexis Academic database. Their profile should give their official website address.
- Look for terms like “Sustainability” or “Environmental policy”. You may have to first find a “corporate information” section of the company’s webpage.
- Search the library’s business databases (Business Source Premier and ABI/Inform Complete are again recommended) for news about the company’s green policies. A combination search on the company name and terms like “environment” is recommended.
5 minute video tutorial
This 5 minute video about researching green companies will give you an idea of how to start your project.