Who's the greenest pharma of all?

Today pharma can look into the magic mirror and find who is the greenest of them all. In two separate environmental rankings, drugmakers have been weighed on the eco-scale--and in some cases, found to be environmentally responsible.

Bayer took top honors, in fact, for its detailed reporting of climate strategies and emissions. The company, which includes a chemicals group as well as pharmaceuticals, got the nod from the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index, the only European pharma to be included in the index of 50 top companies five times in a row. It captured 95 of a possible 100 points this time around.

Meanwhile, Newsweek ranks the top 500 green companies, and two drugmakers hit the top 10. They're Johnson & Johnson, at No. 3, and Bristol-Myers Squibb at No. 8. The next pharma comes in at No. 19, and that's Allergan. Baxter hit the rankings at No. 35.

What's so special about J&J? Newsweek says that the company's "commitment to climate change is rare for its peer group." It boasts the largest fleet of hybrid vehicles on the planet. But it's a "top emitter of toxic pollutants" compared with other drugmakers. Bristol-Myers won compliments for its vow to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by next year, and its promises to cut back on other emissions as well. See the list for more on your favorite drugmakers.

- see the Bayer release [1]
- check out the Bayer story [2] from The Financial
- get the full Newsweek ranking [3]
- see Newsweek's list [4] of green pharma firms

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