A total of nearly 6 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions were produced by 100 companies or entities in the US in 2020 alone, according to analysis from the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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Over half a billion metric tons of those emissions were from facilities owned by ten companies, many of which supply electricity for utilities, including Vistra Energy, Duke Energy, Southern Company, and Berkshire Hathaway.
The US government as an entity was responsible for 38 million metric tons of CO2 from industrial facilities in 2020.
“The main point of our project is to bring awareness to a large audience that might include shareholders, chief environmental officers, socially responsible investors … to make them aware at a company level of greenhouse gases,” said Michael Ash, co-director of PERI that regularly puts out the Greenhouse 100 Polluters Index along with other indices on corporate toxics information. The index is based on EPA data, with academic research and analysis.
The top suppliers for US industrial facility pollution
Burning and emitting emissions is possible because of the materials or products supplied to those facilities. PERI also ranks companies by CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their supply of products that result in GHG emissions when the products are released, combusted, or oxidized. The most recent suppliers index was recently released this year using 2021 data. Top suppliers include Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66, Valero Energy, Exxon Mobil, Peabody Energy, and Chevron.
Top polluters also rank low on environmental justice
Some of the top polluting companies also have facilities in communities that historically have faced environmental and health injustices. “We need to proceed with care for people who may be displaced in this economy, in this crucial economic and environmental transition,” said Ash.
Southern Company, for instance, has 63% of its emissions that are potentially co-pollutants of combustion in areas with people living below the poverty line or by people in minority racial/ethnic groups. Berkshire Hathaway also has 50% of its emissions in poor communities and communities of color. Still others are worse, with some companies on the top 100 list producing over half of their emissions in such communities, including Chevron, NextEra Energy, Exxon Mobil, Valero Energy, and NRG Energy. BP has one of the highest percentages, with a whopping 77% of its emissions produced in communities of color, and 19% produced in communities below the poverty line.
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