U.S. magazine Newsweek analyzed the world’s 500 largest publicly-traded companies to gauge how they fare on the environment. Together with research partners Corporate Knights Capital and HIP Investors Inc., it looked at indicators such as energy and water use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste recycling. Atlas Copco ranked 11th in the world and highest in the industrial segment. Atlas Copco was also on the list last year.
“Making innovative, energy-effective products and taking other steps to reduce the environmental impact is about business leadership,” said Mala Chakraborti, Atlas Copco’s Vice President Corporate Responsibility. “Our environmental targets are central to our business, and we are happy to be recognized for this.”
Atlas Copco’s innovative, energy-saving products include its variable-speed compressors, a technology that the Group pioneered in 1994 that enables compressors to run only at the speed necessary, cutting energy consumption. In 2013, Atlas Copco launched the patented VSD+ technology, which cuts energy use by more than half compared with traditional compressors.
Earlier this year, Atlas Copco was among those recognized by the United Nations at the agency’s major conference on climate change for the Group’s goals to cut carbon dioxide from its products and operations. Atlas Copco was also this year recognized as one of the world’s most sustainable companies in the annual Global 100 list.