Carbon Clean 200®:

Investing in a Clean Energy Future

2020 Performance Update

Clean200
As You Sow 2020 Clean 200
 
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Corporate Knights The Voice for Clean Capitalism logo
 

The Clean200™ is an educational tool intended to give individuals the ability to research companies that are effectively balancing people, planet, and profit. The Clean200 list may be used by individuals free of charge. All commercial investment products derived from The Clean200 require a license. Contact As You Sow and/or Corporate Knights Inc. for further information.


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** As You Sow and Corporate Knights are not investment advisors, nor do we provide financial planning, legal or tax advice. Nothing in the Carbon Clean200 Report shall constitute or be construed as an offering of financial instruments, or as investment advice or investment recommendations. Read our full disclaimer.**

We are pleased to present the 2020 Carbon Clean 200™ list of publicly traded companies that are leading the way with solutions for the transition to a clean energy future. Since our first report was launched in the summer of 2016 a great deal has changed in the world. 

Larry Fink, the CEO of the largest investment firm in the world, shook up Wall Street this January stating that we are “on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance” with climate change as a defining feature, that “climate risk in investing risk…in the near future – and sooner than most anticipate – there will be a significant reallocation of capital.”

In between Fink’s letter, Greta Thunberg’s call for a radical change acceleration on the pace of climate action took over the agenda at Davos during the World Economic Forum, where a new manifesto proclaimed stakeholder capitalism and ESG define the new economy and Larry Fink was spotted wearing a rare-edition 2 degrees scarf around his neck. 

Another inflection point in the popular culture realm occurred during halftime at Superbowl 2020, where the company that once “killed the electric car” purchased a prime advertising slot to showcase their new electric Hummer with LeBron James as the pitchman.

The fundamental story is that march from high carbon energy to clean energy is only quickening driven mainly by economics, risk, and increasingly supported by other social forces from Greta to Pope Francis; from Extinction Rebellion to The European Central Bank. 

Investors have awoken to this trend, which helps to account for the anomalous direction of oil prices and oil stock values in 2019. Brent Crude Oil prices rose 28% and WTI oil prices rose 30% last year, while the energy sector placed dead last in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, posting a 7.3% gain, while the index as a whole rose 29% for the year.

Financial markets are driven by two powerful emotions: greed and fear.

As the outgoing governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, puts it, “Companies that don’t adapt [to the low-carbon economy] – including companies in the financial system – will go bankrupt without question. [But] there will be great fortunes made along this path aligned with what society wants.”

To wit: the top five coal companies in the U.S. have all declared bankruptcy since 2016, and Apple is now bigger than all the oil and gas companies on the S&P 500 combined, in large part because they have earned negative returns over the last decade, even after accounting for dividends. 

Carbon-intensive companies are suffering because the alternatives are not just cleaner but cheaper. Around two-thirds of the world’s population now live in countries in which wind or solar are the lowest-cost ways of generating power. Renewables are now cheaper than coal in two-thirds of the world’s countries, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. BNP Paribas estimates that oil needs to come down to US$10 a barrel to be competitive with electricity-driven transport. This does not mean fossil fuels are going away tomorrow, but it does kill the growth story and leads to questions about demand assumptions on big oil’s economic forecast. For oil investors, the market’s realization of this inevitable decline could make the coal horror show look like Mary Poppins. 

This increasing speed of the energy transition is part of the reason why investors representing US$12 trillion in assets have made public their divestment from fossil fuels. 

Perhaps more telling is that beyond these public declarations, many of the biggest investors in the world are selling off their fossil fuel holdings and loading up on green assets. For example, without any fanfare the C$200 billion Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has dialed down its fossil-fuel equity holdings to just 1%. On the upside, the C$306 billion Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has grown its green investment book to C$30 billion, earning commercial returns along the way, according to outgoing chief executive Michael Sabia.

While economics are shifting in favor of clean energy investing, so is public sentiment. Call it the Greta effect if you like, but most people are no longer comfortable with the idea that their retirement investments may be helping to set the world on fire and we are seeing this especially in millennials and women. 

Andreas Utermann, chief executive of Allianz Global Investors, which manages US$600 billion, says, “Clients have changed their tune. They have said we need to take this more seriously, and that has sharpened the minds of asset managers.”

With all this action, we hope that the Clean200 can to do two things: 

  • provide a useful North star for investors looking to pinpoint the companies leading the way to a clean energy future.

  • to dispel the myth that clean investing is about sacrificing returns. 

Efficient market theorists caution that if you add any non-financial considerations to portfolio selection, you are at a financial disadvantage. The trouble with this theory is that investing in a time of transition is like hitting a curveball. Putting on a clean energy lens gives the batter a better sense of the ball’s trajectory and increases the chance of making solid contact. 

To make things easier, Corporate Knights and As You Sow are proud to present the latest edition of the Clean200. 

While we’re not promising any home runs, we are happy to report that the Clean200 now has more than a three-year track record of outperforming its high-carbon global counterparts.


Returns

Since inception (July 1, 2016), the Clean200 has generally been ahead of the MSCI ACWI Energy Index.

Source: S&P IQ Capital, Corporate Knights

Source: S&P IQ Capital, Corporate Knights

Overall, the model presented in the form of the Clean200 continues to indicate that demand and market forces are driving growth for low carbon companies. Since its inception two and a half years ago, the Clean200 has generally outperformed the MSCI ACWI Energy Index. It will be interesting to see how the trends unfold over the next few months.

 
GICS Sector # of Clean200 Companies

Industrials

79

Information Technology

44

Materials

26

Consumer Discretionary

17

Utilities

11

Consumer Staples

8

Health Care

5

Communication Services

4

Real Estate

3

Energy

2

Financials 1
 

CLEAN200 Companies by Country

 
Country # of Clean200 companies

United States of America

39

Japan

28

China

27

France

13

Sweden

10

Canada

9

Germany

7

Finland

4

Netherlands

7

Korea; Republic (S. Korea)

7

United Kingdom

6

Switzerland

5

Hong Kong

4

Taiwan

4

Ireland; Republic of

4

Denmark

4

India

4

Spain

3

Brazil

3

Singapore

3

Belgium

2

Austria

2

Australia

2

Italy

1

Norway

1

Turkey

1

 

The Clean200™ Methodology

The Clean200 are the largest 200 public companies ranked by green energy revenues. It was first calculated on July 1, 2016 and publicly released on August 15, 2016 by Corporate Knights and As You Sow. The current list has been updated with data through the end of 2019 (December 31, 2019).

The Clean200 companies are listed by their estimated green revenues in USD. The dataset is developed by multiplying a company’s most recent year-end revenues by its clean revenue estimate, primarily sourced from Corporate Knights Research. In order to be eligible, a company must have USD revenue of at least $1 billion (most recent available fiscal year end data) and earn more than 10% of total revenues from clean sources.

The Clean200 uses negative screens. It excludes all oil and gas companies and utilities that generate less than 50 percent of their power from green sources, the top 100 coal companies measured by reserves, the top 100 oil & gas companies as measured by reserves, as well as all fossil fuel companies, majority fossil-fired utilities, pipeline and oil field services companies, and other fossil fuel-related companies screened on As You Sow’s Fossil Free Funds. In addition, the Clean200 excludes weapons companies including major military arms manufacturers found on the SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services list, as well cluster munitions, nuclear weapons, and civilian firearm manufacturers screened on As You Sow’s Weapon Free Funds. The Clean200 also excludes palm oil, paper/pulp, rubber, timber, beef, and soy producers that are screened on As You Sow’s Deforestation Free Funds, companies using child or forced labor, and companies who engage in negative climate lobbying are not included. The full list of exclusionary screens is provided below. 

Clean200 Negative Screens Criteria Number of Companies Excluded

Farm Animal Welfare

Identifies company laggards (Tier 5 or 6) on Farm Animal Welfare practices, based on the Benchmark for Farm Animal Welfare.

0

Industrial Meat

Identifies meat companies, according to FactSet RBICS.

0

Corporate Fines, Penalties or Settlements

Identifies laggard companies (bottom quartile) with high monetary fines, penalties and settlements paid as a percentage of total revenue.

2

Tobacco

Identifies companies which earn more than 5% of revenue from tobacco using FactSet's RBICS.

0

Controversial Weapons

The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world (Link); Cluster munitions and landmines, nuclear weapons, gun manufacturers screened by As You Sow Weapon Free Funds tool (Link)

2

Conventional Weapons

The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world (Link); Cluster munitions and landmines, nuclear weapons, gun manufacturers screened by As You Sow Weapon Free Funds tool (Link)

2

Small Arms (Hand Guns)

Identifies companies which earn more than 5% of revenue from sale of handguns using FactSet's RBICS.

0

Blocking Climate Policy

Identifies laggards (scored less than E) in climate regulation readiness according to InfluenceMap.

1

Severe Environmental Damage

Identifies companies which meet NBIM exclusion for "Actions or omissions that constitute an unacceptable risk of the Fund contributing to severe environmental damages".

1

Thermal Coal

The FFI Carbon Underground Top 100 companies by coal reserves (Link); Morningstar coal industry company industry classification (Link); Companies which derive at least 30% of revenue from thermal coal as provided by Oxford Smith School, supplemented by corporate financial disclosures.

13

Non-Green Utilities

Any utility that derives less than 50% revenue from green sources; Macroclimate Top 30 public company owners of coal-fired power plants (Link)

28

Tropical Deforestation

Scores less than 2 on Forest 500 scale; Palm oil, paper/pulp, rubber, timber, beef, and soy screened by the As You Sow/Friends of the Earth Deforestation Free Funds tool (Link)

8

For-Profit Prison

Identifies companies which own or operate private prisons according to FactSet RBICS and two aggregated private prison divestment lists, from American Friends Service Committee (Quaker) and Enlace International's National Private Prison Divestment Campaign.

0

Repressive Regime

Identifies companies which derive at least 5% of their revenue from countries listed as "worst of the worst" by Freedom House.

0

Global Compact Principles Violators

Companies identified by RepRisk Global Compact database with a “VIOLATOR_OPERATIONS” flag under either of human rights, labour, environment or anti-corruption themes.

0

Gambling

Identifies companies which earn more than 5% of revenue from gambling using FactSet's RBICS.

0

Pornography

Companies classified by "Adult Entertainment" by at least one of the cohort of large pension funds with exclusion lists that Corporate Knights monitors.

0

Excess of conventional over clean energy financing

Based on Bloomberg BNEF data and/or corporate disclosures. Companies who sum of conventional energy financing exceeds new energy financing are removed.

0

Child/Forced labour

Source: Know the Chain. Companies which scored in bottom half of Know the Chain rating are removed

2

Oil & Gas

The FFI Carbon Underground Top 100 companies by oil/gas reserves (Link);

0

Ratio of fossil cap-ex to renewables cap ex is greater than 2:1

Where an oil & gas company derives a minority of revenue from renewable energy sources, those whose capital expenditure towards renewable energy business to fossil-fuel energy business is less than 25% (or not disclosed) are removed

0

The Clean200™ List

Rank Name Country GICS Sector
1 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Taiwan Information Technology
2 Alphabet Inc United States Communication Services
3 Siemens AG Germany Industrials
4 Toyota Motor Corp Japan Consumer Discretionary
5 HP Inc United States Information Technology
6 Iberdrola SA Spain Utilities
7 Cisco Systems Inc United States Information Technology
8 Tesla Inc United States Consumer Discretionary
9 Schneider Electric SE France Industrials
10 Unilever PLC United Kingdom Consumer Staples
11 Lenovo Group Ltd China Information Technology
12 Abb Ltd Switzerland Industrials
13 Vestas Wind Systems A/S Denmark Industrials
14 Umicore SA Belgium Materials
15 Valeo SA France Consumer Discretionary
16 Intel Corp United States Information Technology
17 Banco do Brasil SA Brazil Financials
18 Air Liquide SA France Materials
19 Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA France Industrials
20 Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais CEMIG Brazil Utilities
21 Hitachi Ltd Japan Information Technology
22 Sanofi SA France Health Care
23 Canadian National Railway Co Canada Industrials
24 Accenture PLC Ireland Information Technology
25 Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Sweden Information Technology
26 Byd Co Ltd China Consumer Discretionary
27 Kimberly-Clark Corp United States Consumer Staples
28 Kering SA France Consumer Discretionary
29 Panasonic Corp Japan Consumer Discretionary
30 Alstom SA France Industrials
31 Samsung SDI Co Ltd South Korea Information Technology
32 Aisin Seiki Co Ltd Japan Consumer Discretionary
33 BT Group PLC United Kingdom Communication Services
34 Nokia Oyj Finland Information Technology
35 Johnson Controls International PLC Ireland Industrials
36 Orsted A/S Denmark Utilities
37 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co United States Information Technology
38 SAP SE Germany Information Technology
39 Konica Minolta Inc Japan Information Technology
40 Kone Oyj Finland Industrials
41 Adidas AG Germany Consumer Discretionary
42 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA Spain Industrials
43 Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd Japan Consumer Discretionary
44 Koninklijke KPN NV Netherlands Communication Services
45 Smurfit Kappa Group PLC Ireland Materials
46 Ecolab Inc United States Materials
47 Prysmian SpA Italy Industrials
48 Natura Cosmeticos SA Brazil Consumer Staples
49 Ball Corp United States Materials
50 Sims Metal Management Ltd United States Materials
51 Keppel Corporation Ltd Singapore Industrials
52 Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd Canada Industrials
53 Signify NV Netherlands Industrials
54 Bombardier Inc Canada Industrials
55 Ricoh Co Ltd Japan Information Technology
56 Emerson Electric Co United States Industrials
57 Asahi Kasei Corp Japan Materials
58 Danaher Corp United States Health Care
59 Sekisui House Ltd Japan Consumer Discretionary
60 Avangrid Inc United States Utilities
61 Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd China Industrials
62 Koninklijke DSM NV Netherlands Materials
63 Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd China Industrials
64 Dassault Systemes SE France Information Technology
65 Osram Licht AG Germany Industrials
66 Ingersoll-Rand PLC United States Industrials
67 Skanska AB Sweden Industrials
68 Verbund AG Austria Utilities
69 CSX Corp United States Industrials
70 Canadian Solar Inc Canada Information Technology
71 China Longyuan Power Group Corp Ltd China Utilities
72 Akzo Nobel NV Netherlands Materials
73 JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd China Information Technology
74 Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd Japan Health Care
75 Shimizu Corp Japan Industrials
76 LG Chem Ltd South Korea Materials
77 Sekisui Chemical Co Ltd Japan Consumer Discretionary
78 Solvay SA Belgium Materials
79 Fanuc Corp Japan Industrials
80 Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd Japan Information Technology
81 City Developments Ltd Singapore Real Estate
82 LONGi Green Energy Technology Co Ltd China Information Technology
83 Kingspan Group PLC Ireland Industrials
84 West Japan Railway Co Japan Industrials
85 Cascades Inc Canada Materials
86 American Water Works Company Inc United States Utilities
87 Waste Management Inc United States Industrials
88 Electrolux AB Sweden Consumer Discretionary
89 GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd Hong Kong Information Technology
90 Aptiv PLC United Kingdom Consumer Discretionary
91 SMC Corp Japan Industrials
92 Parker-Hannifin Corp United States Industrials
93 VMware Inc United States Information Technology
94 Biomerieux SA France Health Care
95 McCormick & Company Inc United States Consumer Staples
96 Legrand SA France Industrials
97 Lite-On Technology Corp Taiwan Information Technology
98 Wartsila Oyj Abp Finland Industrials
99 Koninklijke Philips NV Netherlands Health Care
100 MLS Co Ltd China Information Technology
101 Capitaland Ltd Singapore Real Estate
102 Melrose Industries PLC United Kingdom Industrials
103 Rexel SA France Industrials
104 Sino-American Silicon Products Inc Taiwan Information Technology
105 Tianneng Power International Ltd China Consumer Discretionary
106 Air Products and Chemicals Inc United States Materials
107 H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB Sweden Consumer Discretionary
108 Autodesk Inc United States Information Technology
109 Spie SA France Industrials
110 China Everbright International Ltd Hong Kong Industrials
111 China Railway Signal & Communication Corp Ltd China Information Technology
112 Kao Corp Japan Consumer Staples
113 Eaton Corporation PLC United States Industrials
114 Atlas Copco AB Sweden Industrials
115 Doosan Co Ltd South Korea Industrials
116 Andritz AG Austria Industrials
117 Workday Inc United States Information Technology
118 Norsk Hydro ASA Norway Materials
119 FirstGroup PLC United Kingdom Industrials
120 Analog Devices Inc United States Information Technology
121 United Natural Foods Inc United States Consumer Staples
122 NARI Technology Co Ltd China Industrials
123 NSK Ltd Japan Industrials
124 Aalberts NV Netherlands Industrials
125 Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co Ltd China Information Technology
126 AB SKF Sweden Industrials
127 Zhejiang Chint Electrics Co Ltd China Industrials
128 Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd South Korea Information Technology
129 Green Plains Inc United States Energy
130 LG Innotek Co Ltd South Korea Information Technology
131 Brookfield Renewable Partners LP Canada Utilities
132 Acuity Brands Inc United States Industrials
133 China Agri-Industries Holdings Ltd Hong Kong Consumer Staples
134 Nexans SA France Industrials
135 MTR Corp Ltd Hong Kong Industrials
136 Sandvik AB Sweden Industrials
137 eBay Inc United States Consumer Discretionary
138 Applied Materials Inc United States Information Technology
139 THK Co Ltd Japan Industrials
140 Wacker Chemie AG Germany Materials
141 Nordex SE Germany Industrials
142 Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd South Korea Industrials
143 Omron Corp Japan Information Technology
144 Xinte Energy Co Ltd China Industrials
145 Keikyu Corp Japan Industrials
146 Delta Electronics Inc Taiwan Information Technology
147 Huaneng Renewables Corp Ltd China Utilities
148 Nitto Denko Corp Japan Materials
149 Guodian Technology & Environment Group Corp Ltd China Industrials
150 Essity AB (publ) Sweden Consumer Staples
151 Air Water Inc Japan Materials
152 Kansas City Southern United States Industrials
153 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd Japan Materials
154 GCL System Integration Technology Co Ltd China Information Technology
155 ASML Holding NV Netherlands Information Technology
156 CIMIC Group Ltd Australia Industrials
157 Nidec Corp Japan Industrials
158 Amcor PLC Australia Materials
159 Weyerhaeuser Co United States Real Estate
160 NTN Corp Japan Industrials
161 Sungrow Power Supply Co Ltd China Industrials
162 Shunfeng International Clean Energy Ltd China Information Technology
163 Metso Oyj Finland Industrials
164 NCC Ltd India Industrials
165 DSV A/S Denmark Industrials
166 Siemens Ltd India Industrials
167 TE Connectivity Ltd Switzerland Information Technology
168 Dover Corp United States Industrials
169 Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co Ltd China Information Technology
170 Suzlon Energy Ltd India Industrials
171 Risen Energy Co Ltd China Information Technology
172 GEA Group AG Germany Industrials
173 Evoqua Water Technologies Corp United States Industrials
174 China Lesso Group Holdings Ltd China Industrials
175 Jindal SAW Ltd India Materials
176 Clariant AG Switzerland Materials
177 Pearson PLC United Kingdom Communication Services
178 Fortive Corp United States Industrials
179 Ebara Corp Japan Industrials
180 Nibe Industrier AB Sweden Industrials
181 Chr Hansen Holding A/S Denmark Materials
182 STMicroelectronics NV Switzerland Information Technology
183 COFCO Biochemical Anhui Co Ltd China Materials
184 Shenzhen Desay Battery Technology Co Ltd China Industrials
185 Sika AG Switzerland Materials
186 Graphic Packaging Holding Co United States Materials
187 SNC-Lavalin Group Inc Canada Industrials
188 EDP Renovaveis SA Spain Utilities
189 Tofas Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi AS Turkey Consumer Discretionary
190 Renewable Energy Group Inc United States Energy
191 Transcontinental Inc Canada Industrials
192 Itron Inc United States Information Technology
193 LS Corp South Korea Industrials
194 Stantec Canada Industrials
195 Peab AB Sweden Industrials
196 Sanan Optoelectronics Co Ltd China Information Technology
197 Jiangsu Zhongli Group Co Ltd CHINA Industrials
198 ON Semiconductor Corp United States Information Technology
199 China Datang Corp Renewable Power Co Ltd China Utilities
200 Xuji Electric Co Ltd China Industrials

Creative Commons License
Clean200 2020 Update: Investing in a Clean Energy Future by Toby Heaps, Wendy Shen-Juarez, Andrew Behar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.asyousow.org/report-page/2020-clean200.