Sep. 30--For the second consecutive year, Danbury-based Praxair Inc. has been rated as one of the world's top firms in the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions.

The maker of industrial gases last week was included in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index's Global 500 compiled by the Carbon Disclosure Project, which recognizes 50 among 500 of the world's largest corporations as leaders in climate-change disclosure practices based on their responses to a questionnaire.

"Our selection reflects the Praxair team's ongoing commitment to continuous improvement in energy efficiency and environmental performance worldwide," Riva Krut, Praxair's director of sustainability, said in a statement. "We continue to identify new opportunities to reduce both our own environmental footprint as well as that of our customers."

Praxair received a score of 83 out of 100 in the index, which rates companies on emissions accounting, performance, governance, verification and trading, and risks and opportunities.

Other companies receiving a score of 83 include Munich-based financial service provider Allianz, Biogen Idec, a Cambridge, Mass.-based medical therapy firm, and BASF, Johnson & Johnson's German chemical-maker, received the highest score of 94, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project's Web site.

Praxair's answers to questions under 28 topics, such as regulatory opportunities, emissions history and reduction plans, were recorded in a 64-page document

that is available on the company's Web site.

"It's a very extensive, detailed analysis that asks for a lot of data," said Susan Szita Gore, Praxair's director of corporate communications. "One of the challenges with disclosure is that this is a relatively new area without a lot of regulation and agreement on what kind of data needs to be collected and in what form."

Praxair's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions include creating greater efficiencies in its plants, delivery trucks and routes, Gore said.

"We invest about $50 million a year in energy-efficiency projects," she said.

Praxair, the only industrial gas company to be selected for the global index, also was listed in the Carbon Disclosure Project's S&P 500 Leadership Index, which lists the 50 U.S. leaders in carbon disclosure.

The Carbon Disclosure Project represents 475 institutional investors worldwide with more than $55 trillion in assets under management. The London-based independent nonprofit organization, which was founded in 2000, collects climate change data from 2,500 corporations around the world.

Inclusion in the Carbon Disclosure Project's global index shows investors that a company is prepared to meet environmental regulations related to climate change, said Zoe Riddell, head of investor relations at the Carbon Disclosure Project.

"Then they don't have to play catch-up," she said.

Praxair is also the world's only chemical company on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, which ranks Praxair among the top 10 chemical companies worldwide in terms of sustainability criteria, according to the company.

Publicly-traded Praxair's net income for the second quarter ended June 30 was $299 million, compared with $349 million for the same period last year. Reported sales for this year's second quarter were slightly more than $2.1 billion, while sales for the second quarter of 2008 reached nearly $2.9 billion. Its sales for all of 2008 totalled $10.8 billion.

The company's stock, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange as PX, gained 45 cents to close at $81.

It is critical for companies to focus on their carbon footprints and taking steps to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, said Dennis Schain, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"We applaud companies that take this type of approach," he said. "It is a key environmental issue of our time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the next stage of corporate responsibility for businesses."

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