Top 10 Green Companies in America

Live green and protect the environment by buying your products and services from the best green companies in America. The future for our children depends on what we do today and doing business with green companies with a focus on the environment will allow you to reward them for stepping up to the plate. New companies continue to go green including health care, clothing, investment, electric and virtually any other type of company you can think of. To help you choose a green eco-friendly company to purchase from, we have compiled this list of our top ten green companies in America.

Whole Foods Market - Organic Food Supermarket

Whole Foods Market is the epitome of green living. Back in 2006 they began their "green mission" by purchasing renewable energy credits from wind farms. They have used these wind farm energy credits to offset 100% of their electricity bill across their entire footprint. This earned them the EPA's green power partner of the year in 2006 and 2007. Whole Foods stocks an assortment of organic food that not only helps you live greener, but protects the environment as well. Other green initiatives Whole Foods is an active part of include biodegradable food packaging, biodiesel, and water conservation.

Starbucks - Gourmet Premium Coffee Shops

Starbucks doesn't just preach green living, they actively work towards a more eco-friendly goal. Starbucks "shared planet" initiative began to encourage customer involvement in a healthy green lifestyle. Part of the shared planet program includes allowing customers to bring in reusable coffee mugs for a discount on each cup of coffee they purchase. Since 2006, Starbucks has saved nearly 200,000 trees by using 10% post-consumer paper fiber in every coffee cup sold. This is a green company that takes the environment seriously.

Tesla Motors

Tesla creates environmentally focused high-performance hybrid automobiles. No carbon emissions are produced as they use fully electric motors to power their vehicles. The Tesla Roadster will go from zero to sixty in under four seconds while enabling you to drive up to 240 miles on a single charge. Tesla is the best green auto company in America.

Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications, the producers of the popular television channels "The Animal Planet" and "Discovery" have been encouraging their viewers to go green for years. Treehugger.com is their eco-friendly website that highlights the key environmental concerns and topics we face today. Discovery continues living green with their funding of green projects, producing the amazing Planet Earth series, and utilizing energy efficient lighting and bamboo floors.

S.C. Johnson & Son

Johnson & Johnson supports green healthy living through funding and promoting many green friendly organizations. These organizations include the World Wildlife Fund and the Nature Conservancy. They also do ecological risk assessments on all of their new products. Johnson & Johnson is our number one choice for a green healthcare company.

The Home Depot

The Home Depot is committed to protecting the environment for the children of the future. They recently contributed nearly $400,000 to the Forest Stewardship Council for the preservation of forests across the world. They provide eco-friendly and energy efficient products and provide a wealth of green living information on their website. Home Depot is our pick for the best green hardware company in America.

IBM

IBM started project Big Green, which is a $1-billion dollar initiative to support energy efficient green living. This includes a "Green Team" comprised of over 800 architects focused primarily on energy efficiency. IBM was voted the Top Green IT Company by Computerworld in 2008.

Honda

Honda produces many eco-friendly green vehicles in their hybrid lineup. Their new Honda Insight hybrid starts under $20,000 which brings an affordable new option to the hybrid vehicle market. Honda has been voted "greenest automaker" by the Union of Concerned Scientists several years in a row.

United Parcel Service (UPS)

UPS uses hybrid electric vehicles in many markets to deliver packages to their customers. They have over 20,000 alternate fuel vehicles which increase fuel economy by up to 45%. UPS has spent millions on their fleet to keep the environment healthy and reduce their carbon emissions and footprint across the board.

The Walt Disney Company - Theme Parks & Resorts

The Walt Disney Company has become a green company with a broad repertoire of green projects. Plans have been produced to reduce emissions, cut electricity usage, lower garbage, and have produced a comprehensive environmental plan for the company. They are our choice for best new up-n-coming green company in America.

Bayer - Pharmaceutical Company

The Bayer Climate Program spearheaded by the health-care company includes over $1-billion dollars helping to protect the world's climate. Bayer works towards a common goal of finding new cutting edge technologies that reduce human's harmful effects on the environment and allows them to find new ways to become more energy efficient.

Sources:

"2007 best green companies." Working Mother

Robert Hurt III, "11 Green Companies." Portfolio.com

"Starbucks Shared Planet." Starbucks

"2008 best green companies for America's children." Working Mother