BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Nov. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) has once again been recognized as one of the top 500 U.S. companies in Newsweek's second annual Green Rankings, which lists the greenest large companies in the U.S. and globally. Whirlpool ranked 116th on the list.

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"It is a privilege to be named to Newsweek's Green Rankings list for the second straight year," said Jeff M. Fettig, chairman and CEO, Whirlpool Corporation. "Our innovation and long-term commitment to the environment make this distinction possible."

The rankings are divided among industries, with Whirlpool being recognized in the Consumer Products category. Out of a possible 100, Whirlpool Corporation's overall green score for 2010 is 77.41, ranking it 11th in this category.

Nearly 40 years ago, Whirlpool Corporation established a corporate office for environmental control and, in 2003, the company became the world's first appliance manufacturer to announce a global greenhouse gas reduction target. Whirlpool Corporation has made a goal that, with common standards and appropriate incentives in place, by 2015 it will make all the electronically controlled appliances it produces -- everywhere in the world -- capable of receiving and responding to signals from smart grids.

The Newsweek Green Rankings 2010 measures the environmental performance of the 500 largest U.S. and 100 largest global companies, in terms of revenue, market cap and number of employees. The list was launched in 2009 as the first objective 'green' analysis of the largest U.S. companies. The 2010 list was published in Newsweek's October 2010 issue and on the web, and is the first to include a global companies category.

The rankings are completed with the help of ASAP Media, Newsweek's editorial partner. Its research partners on the rankings are RiskMetrics Group, TruCost and CorporateRegister.com. Each research partner provides specific scoring data to be weighted for the overall score of each company. For more information about the 2010 Newsweek Green Rankings, visit www.newsweek.com/green.

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $17 billion in 2009, 67,000 employees, and 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world.  Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com.  

About Whirlpool Corporation's 100th Anniversary

Founded on November 11, 1911, Whirlpool Corporation has influenced home and family life during the last century.  The company is driven by the belief that everyone needs a comfortable place to call home and has a 100 year history of creating better ways of cooking, cleaning, refrigerating and storing.  Whirlpool Corporation is focused on improving lives one person, one family, one home, one community at a time.

SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation