Pacific Gas and Electric Company named nation’s greenest energy company

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on Wednesday was named the number one greenest energy company in the 2016 Newsweek Green Rankings, one of the most prestigious international measures of corporate environmental excellence.

“We’re honored to be recognized as the greenest energy provider in the United States, and for our long-standing commitment to sustainable business practices,” PG&E Corporation Chairman, CEO and President Tony Earley said. “Earning the top position in the Newsweek Green Rankings is a reflection of our efforts to protect the environment, create a clean-energy future, and build a better California for our customers and communities.”

PG&E ranked on top among electric and natural gas utilities and 15th overall among the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the country. Internationally, PG&E ranked second among utilities and 31st overall. Last year, PG&E ranked third among utilities and 42nd overall nationally. Internationally it ranked third among utilities and 69th overall in 2015.

Newsweek performs its analyses with the help of Corporate Knights Capital, an independent research firm, and HIP Investor, Inc., a firm that rates companies’ investments in relation to their benefit or cost to society. Each company is ranked across eight factors, including energy, water, waste, greenhouse gas emissions, green revenues, board-level committee sustainability efforts, the extent to which executive pay is linked to sustainability, and environmental metrics conducted by third parties.