the age report identifies low carbon leaders

Report identifies low-carbon leaders
Mathew Murphy
July 4, 2008

AS PROFESSOR Ross Garnaut prepares to release his draft report into the economic impact of climate change today, Babcock & Brown Wind has been identified as the company best placed to make the transition to a low-carbon economy.

That's the finding from research company RepuTex, which has identified 13 companies in the S&P/ASX 300 that are sector leaders in terms of low-carbon profile.

Under the RepuTex ratings system, Babcock & Brown Wind scores the highest, with a "AAA reliable" rating due to its naturally low-carbon business model.

Arrow Energy, Queensland Gas Company and Sims Group also scored high, and were ranked first in their sectors.

Hugh Grossman, RepuTex's head of research, said companies with principal involvement in renewable energy or those that diversified to a low-carbon intensity had a natural advantage.

"Babcock & Brown Wind has scored top marks due to their low-carbon model and renewables exposure," he said. "Our internal models are built around how many emissions there are per million dollars of revenue for each company activity, like steel smelting or gold production."

According to the survey, Billabong, News Corporation and Foster's were the leaders in the consumer sector, Westpac was the best-performing bank, and Transurban led the way in the industrials sector. Telstra, Stockland, Computershare and Cochlear were also named as sector leaders.