Americans are increasingly committed to combating climate change by adopting electric cars, installing solar panels, and making eco-friendly decisions. This trend also extends to companies, with both sectors striving to lower their carbon footprints. This is significant as the U.S. industrial and commercial sectors accounted for 25% of the nation’s total carbon dioxide emissions in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, with transportation contributing 38%.

Identifying Climate Leaders

Determining which companies excel at reducing carbon emissions is challenging due to inconsistent and incomplete data. Currently, no federal or state mandates require companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, leaving consumers and investors in the dark about which companies are truly climate-friendly.

USA TODAY partnered with market research firm Statista to create the second annual America’s Climate Leaders list to address this. This list highlights companies that significantly reduced their carbon dioxide emissions, adjusted by revenue, between 2020 and 2022. The 2024 list saw a 16% increase in companies meeting the criteria, encompassing U.S.-based firms with over $50 million in revenue voluntarily reporting their emissions. To qualify, these companies had to reduce their carbon intensity (emissions divided by revenue) by at least 3% annually.

The Complexity of Climate Data

Messy and inconsistent data complicate understanding which companies lead in reducing their carbon footprint. Evaluating companies’ climate impact involves scrutinizing multiple, sometimes conflicting metrics. Although many companies voluntarily report their emissions, there is no U.S. requirement to do so.

Data transparency is gradually improving. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently introduced rules requiring some public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks starting in 2026. However, these rules face legal challenges and may not be implemented as planned. California has also enacted climate-related reporting requirements for large companies, effective January 2025.

With no national carbon dioxide pollution reporting mandates, transparent data on companies’ emissions is crucial. Christian Leuz, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, emphasized the importance of such data, stating it allows consumers and investors to make informed comparisons. Leuz co-authored a 2023 study showing that if global corporations had to pay for their greenhouse gas damages, it would cost 44% of their profits.

Top Climate Leaders of 2024

Dayforce (formerly Ceridian), a human resources and software company, topped the Climate Leaders list by switching to 100% renewable energy, reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from over 10,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalents in 2020 to less than 500 metric tons in 2022. T-Mobile, last year’s leader, and financial company Cboe Global Markets followed.

The rankings began with over 2,000 U.S.-based companies with revenues exceeding $50 million in 2022. Of these, 700 reported their emissions data, making the rankings possible. The criteria included:

• Emission Intensity: Greenhouse gas emissions relative to revenue.
• Annualized Reductions in Emission Intensity: Calculated between 2020 and 2022.
• Carbon Disclosure Rating: Environmental sustainability measure administered by CDP, a nonprofit.

Scope 1 and 2 emissions, based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, were used for data analysis, ensuring a robust and comprehensive evaluation of each company’s climate impact.