May 8, 2008 - Nike, Stonyfield Farm, and IBM have earned top marks on a second-annual climate scorecard compiled by the nonprofit Climate Counts. Nike raked in 82 out of a possible 100 points to overtake last year’s top finisher, Canon.

Overall, the news was good: Eighty-four percent of the scored companies posted improvements in their climate efforts over last year. Google, Anheuser-Busch, and Levi Strauss showed the most gains, with scores for each jumping at least 20 points.

The companies were scored on a scale from zero to 100, based on 22 criteria that fall within four benchmarks: whether they measure their carbon footprint; what efforts they have made to reduce their own climate impact; whether they support or oppose global warming legislation; and what they disclose to the public about their work to address climate change. [View a copy of the scorecard here (PDF).]

Five companies scored one or zero points: Jones Apparel Group, Burger King, Darden Restaurants (which owns the popular chains Red Lobster and Olive Garden), Yum! Brands (parent to Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC), and Wendy's. The cluster of restaurant chains is telling; overall, the food services sector posted the lowest scores - averaging 11.5 out of 100 - and showed the least improvement of the eight sectors measured. (Starbucks, coming in at 49, was the clear winner, outpacing second-finisher McDonald's by 22 points.)

The food products and electronics industries made the strongest showings, with about half of scored companies in each sector posting a grade of 60 or better.

The consumer shipping sector continued its trend toward middling grades.

View all the company scores, arranged by sector, here.