FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Stefanie Spear, sspear@asyousow.org, 216-387-1609

BERKELEY, CA—FEB. 18, 2021—As You Sow and Corporate Knights today released their seventh update of the Carbon Clean 200 a list of the 200 publicly traded companies that are leading the way among their global peers to a clean energy future. 

Key findings include:

• Clean200 companies generated a total return of 113.41% beating the MSCI ACWI broad market index (78.67%) and MSCI ACWI/Energy Index of fossil fuel companies, (-13.83%) on Total Return Gross — USD Basis from the Clean200 inception of July 1, 2016 to Jan. 31, 2021.

• $10,000 invested in the Clean200 on July 1, 2016 would have grown to $21,340 by Jan. 31, 2021, versus $17,867 for the MSCI ACWI broad market benchmark and $8,617 for the MSCI ACWI Energy benchmark for fossil fuel companies.

• 10 companies which contributed the most to the Clean200’s outperformance over the past year are split between China and the U.S. and include electric vehicles, natural food, and green energy themes.

“In 2016 we created the Clean200 in response to investors saying, ‘if we divest fossil fuels there is nothing to invest in.’ The Clean200 has demonstrated consistently that the clean energy future is the clean energy present,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow and report co-author.

The top 10 companies on the list by revenue include Alphabet, which is 100% powered by renewable energy, Siemens for its large green infrastructure portfolio, Taiwan’s TSMC for its low-energy microchip solutions, and SAP SE for its green-powered software services. Twenty-eight countries are represented in the Clean200, including the U.S. (43), Japan (28), China (17), France (15), and Germany(8).

“While tech companies like Amazon and Zoom have had a good run through this pandemic period, the broad-based trend of outperformance has been dominated by companies providing sustainable solutions, signaling the market’s confidence in their mojo to take our economy forward post-pandemic,” said Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights and report co-author. 

The Clean200 utilizes Corporate Knights Clean Revenue database which tracks the percent of revenue companies earn from clean economy themes including energy efficiency; green energy; electric vehicles; banks financing low-carbon solutions; real estate companies focused on low-carbon buildings; forestry companies protecting carbon sinks; responsible miners of critical materials for the low-carbon economy; food and apparel companies with products primarily made of raw materials with a significantly lower carbon footprint; and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies that are leading the way on renewable energy while also being best-in-sector according to currently accepted privacy benchmarks. 

The list excludes companies that are flagged on As You Sow’s Invest Your Values suite of mutual fund transparency tools that identifies companies involved in fossil fuels, deforestation, weapons, gender inequality, tobacco, and the prison industrial complex.

“We will continue to track and share the emergence of this economic powerhouse,” Behar continued. “There is now clear financial evidence showing a broad spectrum of companies and market forces making the economic transformation, which is our greatest hope in controlling climate change.”

Clean200 vs. MSCI ACWI vs. ACWI Energy
(July 1, 2016 - Jan. 31, 2021, Total Return Gross - USD)

Source: S&P Capital IQ

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As You Sow is a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies. Click here to see As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.

Corporate Knights is a research and media B Corp that seeks to provide information that empowers people to harness markets for a better world.

**As You Sow and Corporate Knights are not investment advisors nor do we provide financial planning, legal, or tax advice. Nothing in the Carbon Clean 200 Report shall constitute or be construed as an offering of financial instruments or as investment advice or investment recommendations.**