Recognition for All This "Greening" We've Been Talking About

One of GSK's goals is to be the "greenest pharmaceutical company"--and we're well on our way!

This week, GSK was ranked fifth out of 100 global companies in Newsweek's Green Rankings. We achieved a green score of 94.18 out of 100. This is based on how well GSK scored in three areas: Environmental Impact, Green Policies and the Reputation Survey. These three areas are weighted at 45%, 45%, and 10% respectively.

According to Newsweek, the target was to assess each company's actual environmental footprint and management of that footprint (including policies and strategies), along with its reputation among environmental experts. Described another way, they wanted to cut through the green chatter to quantify the actual environmental footprints, policies, and reputations of these big businesses, to create the most comprehensive rankings available.

Sustainability means doing things that help ensure the future of GSK's communities and its business, delivering more medicines and products of value.

How the Newsweek Scores Were Calculated

The environmental impact score (EIS) measures the total environmental impact of a corporation's global operations (90%) and disclosure of those impacts (10%). Over 700 metrics--including emissions of nine key greenhouse gases, water use, solid-waste disposal, and emissions that contribute to acid rain and smog--figure into the EIS.

The green policies score assess how a company manages its environmental footprint. More than 70 individual indicators are incorporated into the Green Policies Score, categorized into the following five issues: climate change policies and performance; pollution policies and performance; product impact; environmental stewardship; and management of environmental issues.

The reputation survey score is based on an opinion survey of corporate social-responsibility professionals, academics and other environmental experts who subscribe to CorporateRegister.com. The survey asked for ratings on a random sample of 15 companies on a sliding scale (100 to one) from "leader" to "laggard" in three key green areas: environmental performance, commitment and communication.