Climate Counts

What Climate Counts does

Climate Counts was a New Hampshire-based nonprofit founded in 2007 that built and published an annual Climate Counts Scorecard ranking major global corporations on voluntary actions to reverse climate change and water pollution. The scorecard evaluated criteria including public policy positions and emissions reduction efforts and tracked a concentrated set of mega-brands — Apple, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Nike, and Walmart — with documented impact including Walmart's 2010 decision to begin reporting emissions following public pressure from the scorecard. Distribution was free and direct-to-consumer via ClimateCounts.org, with no commercial pricing model and no disclosed funding rounds.

The organization's core technology was its proprietary annual scoring methodology rather than a software platform. It operated with 1–10 employees and had no AI, API, or integration footprint. The last scorecard was released in 2015, the website went stagnant after 2018, and in September 2022 Climate Counts was integrated into QualityWaterLab.com — a Boston-based water filtration review site that retains the legacy content while shifting the operational focus to water quality information. Operating status is recorded as closed, with no current independent operations, no disclosed revenue, and no evidence of institutional funding.

Name

Climate Counts

Legal name

Climate Counts

Website

https://climatecounts.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Climate Counts was a nonprofit founded in 2007 that published annual scorecards ranking major corporations like Apple, Coca-Cola, GM, Nike, and Walmart on climate action and emissions, serving climate-conscious consumers with free public information until going dormant in 2018.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Ratings

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG/Sustainability Reporting & Disclosure Platforms (EUABAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Carbon Neutrality/Claims Strategy & Communications (claims substantiation, greenwashing risk) (EUABAKAK)

Keywords

• Nonprofit advocacy
• Climate scorecard
• Corporate sustainability ratings
• Environmental transparency
• Climate accountability

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Climate Counts was a nonprofit organization that produced an annual Climate Counts Scorecard, which rated and publicly ranked major consumer-facing corporations (such as Apple, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Nike, and Walmart) on their climate change actions, emissions disclosure, and reduction commitments. The scorecard was distributed as a free public resource to consumers and advocacy audiences.

Product overview

Climate Counts was a single-product organization offering the Climate Counts Scorecard. This annual ranking system evaluated major brands including Apple, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Nike, and Walmart on their climate actions and emissions reduction efforts. The scorecard was updated each year from the organization's founding in 2007 until 2015, when the last release occurred. The organization and its assets have since been incorporated into QualityWaterLab.com, which focuses on water filtration systems and water quality information.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Climate Counts Scorecard Annual 0-to-100 corporate climate performance scorecard that ranked and publicly compared major consumer-facing corporations on their climate change actions, greenhouse-gas emissions disclosure, and reduction commitments; distributed free to consumers, journalists, and advocacy audiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• Drove Walmart to agree to start reporting emissions in 2010 following public pressure

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• QualityWaterLab.comcoreOthers · 1 September 2022Climate Counts became part of QualityWaterLab.com in 2022, with QWL continuing the mission of providing consumers with information for informed choices about water quality and environmental protection. QWL is committed to helping people protect themselves from water-related health risks and empower action in communities to improve water quality.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Emerging players

• Green America: Nonprofit that provides consumers with information to make climate- and sustainability-conscious purchasing decisions; highly comparable consumer-focused nonprofit mission to Climate Counts.
• Greenpeace: Environmental advocacy nonprofit that pressures major brands on climate action; comparable to Climate Counts in using public pressure to drive corporate climate accountability, though via activism rather than scoring.
• Climate Neutral Certified: Nonprofit certification label for brands measuring and reducing carbon emissions; comparable consumer-facing climate accountability brand-mark approach, though narrower scope than the Climate Counts Scorecard.
• Stand.earth: Environmental advocacy organization that publicly ranks and pressures major corporations on climate performance; comparable nonprofit advocacy model targeting big-brand accountability.

Broad incumbents

• EcoVadis: Larger commercial sustainability ratings provider covering corporate ESG performance including climate, with a methodology and scoring framework analogous to (but broader than) the Climate Counts Scorecard.
• Sustainalytics: Major ESG and corporate climate research and ratings firm; comparable in producing comparative corporate environmental scores, but institutional-oriented and far larger scale.
• MSCI ESG Ratings: Established ESG ratings business covering corporate climate and environmental performance; comparable product (corporate ESG scoring) but serves investors rather than consumers.

Direct peers

• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): Global nonprofit that scores and discloses corporate climate and environmental action; the closest functional analogue to Climate Counts' scorecard model, operating at significantly greater scale.
• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi): Nonprofit that defines and validates corporate emissions reduction targets; overlaps with Climate Counts on holding corporations accountable for climate action, though with a more rigorous target-setting focus.
• Climate Action Tracker: Independent science-based assessment that tracks government and corporate climate commitments and action, directly comparable to Climate Counts' scoring of corporate climate performance.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/climatecounts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Climate Counts