Sustainability rankings of chemical companies unveiled

Environmental NGO ChemSec has unveiled a new corporate benchmarking tool that measures the chemical footprint of 35 of the world’s largest chemical companies and found that European countries topped the sustainability list.

The new tool is called ChemScore.

Through ChemScore, investors can access data on the best and worst performers in the chemical industry based on the amount of hazardous chemicals they produce and their efforts to transition to safer, greener alternatives, ChemSec said.

The 35 largest publicly-traded chemical companies are assessed based on four key criteria: 1) total production of hazardous chemicals; 2) efforts to develop and market safer chemicals; 3) level of transparency and public commitments to phase out certain substances; and 4) track record of accidents and controversies such as fines and liability cases.