Covanta Energy Corporation, an operation of Waset-to-Energy facilities has been named among the top 11 U.S. companies in the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes (CIIs).  The index is an extensive study of how U.S.–based multinational corporations manage and adapt to climate change, with a special focus on innovation.

This year, 360 of the largest U.S. companies were rated on CIIs, and Covanta was ranked number one for energy, alternate sources and 11 overall.

“Energy-from-Waste facilities provide tremendous greenhouse gas benefits to the communities that rely on them day in and day out for sustainable waste management and clean energy generation,” said Dr. Paul Gilman, Covanta’s chief sustainability officer in a press release. “We are pleased that the technology has once again been recognized for its important role in mitigating climate change and are excited to see Covanta ranked among the best and most innovative U.S.-based companies in this regard.”

In its analysis, Maplecroft pointed to the fact that “addressing climate change and energy efficiency is at the core of Covanta’s business, as converting waste to energy allows the company to be a net negative emitter of GHG [greenhouse gases].” Maplecroft also gave the company high marks for substantial investments in research and development in order to reduce emissions.

According to Maplecroft, the CIIs enable investors to identify the most resilient and innovative companies with the best long-term growth prospects. They do so by highlighting firms that are innovating products, services, processes or partnerships in order to reshape markets and position themselves to succeed in the climate-changed, low-carbon environment of the future. Since the CIIs conception in 2009, the firms at the top have consistently outperformed their peers and competitors, as demonstrated by the index’s performance on the Bloomberg terminal.