GREEN RANKING FOR 2009
Ranking: 22
Worth: £2bn
Green investment: Waste services

From a small German haulage business in the 1930s, Rethmann has developed into a transport-to-waste multinational. It is now run by the founder’s third son, Norbert, who joined the business in 1961. It has three main subsidiaries: logistics, recycling of animal carcasses and water and environmental services. The company is moving into eastern Europe with a facility to recycle poultry waste and a biofuel production line. It has 3,000 trucks running on biofuel. In 2007, Rethmann had sales of £6.8 billion. In today’s climate, the family should be worth £2 billion.