SC Johnson Polishes the Enviro-Truth

But when I called the company and asked for some context to judge how significant an improvement this is -- say, how many truckloads it started out with, or what portion of its greenhouse gases and fuel usage these numbers represent -- I was told it couldn't give me that information because it doesn't release financial information to the public.

Similarly, in 2001 it devised its much-touted Greenlist , a process for rating the environmental safety of raw materials it uses on a scale of 0 to 3, according to standards that it claims exceeds regulatory requirements. Those with a 0 rating, "are used only on a limited, approved basis when there is not a viable alternative," according to the corporate Web site. A spokesman said in an email that 34% of its "raw materials have the least impact on the environment and human health," up from 12% in 2001.

This represents progress of some sort. But when I asked for a list of its all its raw materials and its ratings for them, I instead got a selective list of improvements.

SC Johnson has reduced the volatile organic compounds -- chemicals that easily vaporize into the air -- in some of its Pledge products, it increased the biodegradability of a cleaning product it sells in Europe, and it eliminated a 0-rated solvent from Windex.