Much of what passes as environmental policy today is an effort to ?do something? ? rather than accomplish something tangible. I base that assertion on the fact that climate-change policies such as a cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide emissions would have no noticeable impact on reducing global warming.

Given that assertion, it?s only fitting that Newsweek?s first ?green rankings? of big companies rely heavily on measures that have nothing to do with outcomes:

Ranking companies based on sustainability is a huge challenge. That’s largely because comparing environmental performance across industries is a bit like analyzing whether Tiger Woods or LeBron James is the world’s greatest athlete?there’s an inevitable apples-and-oranges element. ?

Despite those obstacles, we worked hard to design a ranking system that makes sense. More than half of companies’ overall Green Scores are based on their environmental policies and reputation, industry-neutral metrics that help even the playing field for companies in carbon-intensive businesses.

In other words, companies win points for adopting policies that sound good, whether they work or not. It?s the thought that counts, no matter the cost to customers.