Newsweek’s Green Rankings, featuring the 500 largest U.S. companies, hits newsstands nationwide this week.  Newsweek assessed the pool in three key areas, including: environmental impact, green policy, and reputation.

Hewlett Packard tops the list, followed by a number of other electronic and pharmaceutical companies. Usual suspects - Starbucks and Nike - also made the top ten. On the other end of the spectrum, Peabody Energy finished deadlast, along with fellow energy corporations and ConAgra Foods.

Newsweek pulled in Trustco, KLD Research & Analytics, and CorporateRegister.com to help analyze and compile the metrics. Climate Counts ED Wood Turner was on the initiative’s advisory panel.

The publication cites some obstacles they faced in ranking companies, including company disclosure of metrics. In future years, Newsweek hopes to strengthen their ranking process and gain increased participation on behalf of the companies being ranked.  Nonetheless, the rankings provide another voice for corporate responsibility when in comes to the environment, and another outlet for consumers and investors to participate in this call to action.

Read more about the rankings and methodology here and here.

And check out blog posts from Joel Makower, of GreenBiz, here: Who’s Invested in Newsweek’s Least-Green Companies? (Maybe You)