Ford has managed to kick Toyota off its pedestal as the greenest vehicle brand on the planet, with Honda and Nissan occupying third and fourth spots respectively.
The reason why Toyota has lost ground to Ford is because it’s no longer as open about its non-vehicle issues as it used to be. Those include business travel, water usage and greenhouse gas. Ford on the other hand has focused more integrating sustainability issues into the business.
The brand now offers seven electric vehicles, including Focus Electric, Fusion Energi and Fusion Hybrid, but it’s Toyota’s Prius that often gets recognized as the definitive hybrid. As of now, however, that’s no longer the case, according to the annual survey conducted by Interbrand, a division in an American global branding consultancy Omnicom.
Interestingly enough, the list that Ford tops – 50 Best Global Green Brands for 2014 – does not just include car brands, but all the brands that exist. Companies like Sony and IKEA have also made the list, securing seventh and 19th spots respectively. On the other hand, Google, Amazon and Facebook are absent completely.
The list was first created in 2011, having drawn its data from Interbrand’s annual report that ranks 100 most valuable brands in the world, with Apple and Google enjoying top spots last year. The list ranks brands for environmental friendliness by matching their green efforts, measured by Deloitte Consulting, with consumer perception, which is based on Interbrand’s survey of 10,000 people from various countries.
“The companies that made the list are moving beyond greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain to focus on waste and water use up and down the value chain,” Deloitte consultant Will Sarni told Fortune.
Aside from rank, the list also includes a score for each brand that shows the “gap” between a consumer’s perception of the brand and the brand’s actual environmental performance. For instance, BMW has a gap of +5.8, which means that it’s greener than people actually think it is. Meanwhile, Starbucks is at -2.0 and Kellogg’s is at -6.0, which indicate the opposite.
Last year, KBB ranked Nissan LEAF as the greenest vehicle, followed by Tesla Model S and Ford Focus Electric.
