The 2007 SB20: World's Top Sustainable Stocks

NEW YORK, July 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- 20 Companies Changing the World for the Better

    SustainableBusiness.com today announced its 2007 Sustainable Business 20
(SB20) List: The World's Top Sustainable Stocks. The SB20 list, in its sixth
year, consists of 20 public companies that are having an important impact on
creating an environmentally sustainable society.



    The list is presented in the Progressive Investor newsletter, published
by SustainableBusiness.com, which tracks sustainable stocks.



    "Our goal is to create a list that showcases public companies that, over
the past year, have made substantial progress in either greening their
internal operations or growing a business based on an important green
technology, says Rona Fried, Ph.D., SustainableBusiness.com CEO and Editor of
Progressive Investor.



    To choose the 20 companies, SustainableBusiness.com partnered with KLD
Research & Analytics, which provided a preliminary universe of 50 global
companies with strong "green" initiatives and solid financials. KLD also
served as a judge along with five leading green investment analysts to decide
on the final list.



Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy

    This year, energy efficiency took center stage. Efficiency offers the
least expensive, best economic returns, and most dramatic ways to reduce
greenhouse emissions, simply by reducing energy consumption in the first
place.



    Comverge energy-management technologies save enormous amounts of energy
by cutting peak demand, while keeping the filthiest fossil fuel plants
off-line. Philips has been snapping up market share in LED lighting,
advocating for and preparing to stop producing inefficient incandescents.
Fuel Tech's technology cleans up the dirtiest fossil fuel plants, and
Novozymes, "green chemicals" are keys to industrial efficiency and cellulosic
biofuels.



    REC is the world's most vertically integrated solar company; First Solar
is the first public company to produce high volume, low cost thin film solar.
Vestas, the world's premier wind company, has maintained its leadership
position despite heavy competition. Ormat is the world geothermal leader, and
Schmack Biogas is the world's leading biogas plant manufacturer, turning
organic wastes into electricity, heat or fuels.



Green Building

    For Land Securities, the UK's largest property owner, all new buildings
meet green building standards, while it works to incorporate gray water,
rainwater harvesting, FSC-certified wood, and Fair Trade/ Organic foods
company-wide.



    Interface continues its climb up "Mount Sustainability," innovating in
the materials and processes used to make carpet tiles. Furniture maker Herman
Miller, another stalwart sustainability leader, is 63% on its way to
achieving its goal of Zero Ecological Footprint by 2020.



Consumer Products

    Canon is making its products smaller and lighter, and has an aggressive
target of cutting C02 emissions by 50% by 2010. Nike is using green design
principles to transform its products, root out waste and toxics, and plans to
be carbon neutral by 2015.



Natural Foods/ Natural Products

    Groupe Danone, the world's largest dairy company, is converting more to
organic dairy, sustainable agriculture. Its groundbreaking joint venture,
Grameen Danone Foods, will create hundreds of jobs by manufacturing
nutritionally dense, basic foods -- run on solar and biogas -- to low income
populations in Bangladesh. It's a model for 50 plants in India over the next
10 years.



    The world's largest retailer of organic/ natural products, Whole Foods,
and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the leader in Fair Trade/ Organic coffee,
have been on the SB20 since inception. They are exemplary models all around,
and are largely responsible for the mainstreaming of natural foods/
sustainable coffee. Both companies are climate neutral.



    Chipotle Mexican Grill, with over 600 restaurants, is making waves in the
world of fast food by serving free range meats and integrating organic
ingredients into its menus.


    
    The SB20 List for 2007 - Alphabetical Order

    Best Water Technology (Vienna: BWT.VI) (Austria)
    Canon (NYSE: CAJ) (Japan)
    Comverge (Nasdaq: COMV) (USA)
    Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) (USA)
    First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) (USA)
    Fuel Tech (Nasdaq: FTEK) (USA)
    Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) (USA)
    Groupe Danone (DANO.PA) Netherlands
    Herman Miller (Nasdaq: MLHR) (USA)
    Interface (Nasdaq: IFSIA) (USA)
    Land Securities (London: Land.L) Britain
    NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) (USA)
    Novozymes (Copenhagen: NZYM.CO) Denmark
    Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA) (USA)
    Precious Woods (Geneva: SWX: PRWN) Switzerland
    Renewable Energy Corp - REC (Oslo: REC.OL) Norway
    Royal Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) Netherlands
    Schmack Biogas AG (Germany: SB1B.DE) Germany
    Vestas (Copenhagen: VWS.CO) Denmark
    Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI) (USA)

    Honorable Mention:
    Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG)

    The SB20 Judges:
    Andrew Brengle, Senior Research Analyst, KLD Research & Analytics
    Rafael Coven, Managing Partner, Cleantech Indices LLC
    Matt Patsky, Managing Director, Winslow Green Growth Fund
    Patrick McVeigh, President, Reynders, McVeigh Capital Management
    Max Deml, Editor & Publisher, Oeko Invest Publishing Ltd
    Ton Rennen, Senior Sustainability Analyst, Triodos Bank NV


About Progressive Investor

    Progressive Investor, a monthly newsletter, provides analysis of clean
technology investment opportunities: renewable energy, energy efficiency,
green building, healthy lifestyle.



About SustainableBusiness.com

    SustainableBusiness.com provides global news and networking services to
help green businesses grow: Daily Sustainable Business and Investor news,
Green Dream Jobs, Progressive Investor.



About KLD Research & Analytics, Inc.

    KLD is a leading provider of environmental, social and governance
research and indexes.


    
    Contacts:
    Rona Fried, Editor, Progressive Investor
    President, SustainableBusiness.com
    [phone]
    [e-mail]

    Peter D. Kinder, President
    KLD Research & Analytics, Inc.
    Tel. [phone]
    or
    Amy Blumenthal/Karen Myers, Blumenthal & Associates
    Tel. [phone] (Mobile)
    [e-mail]; [e-mail]


Web site: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com