Lean, Mean--And Green? Environmental "efficiency" can be a plus for a stock. Really. 26 July 2004

This article shows an example for the world's fourth-largest energy company shoulders the risk of cleaning up 218 federal Superfund sites, yet it still earns an A rating (on a CCC-AAA scale) from Innovest. Chevron's proactive investment in solar, wind, and hydrogen power, as well as its effective efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, outweighed its failings when ranked among other oil and gas companies, the analysts contend. Alcoa (AA, $32), the world's largest producer and miner of aluminum, earns an even higher AA for its aggressive efforts to recycle waste, co-generate plant power, and produce new, environmentally friendly aluminum. And IBM (IBM $86) gets a top-of-the-heap AAA for reducing nonhazardous waste by up to 79%, recycling, and cutting carbon emissions by 30%.