The World’s 100 Most Sustainable Corporations

On the periphery of the 2020 Davos World Economic Forum – which produced flashy moments, big talk, and few actual solutions from the world’s richest and most powerful people – Corporate Knights released it’s annual list of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations, known as the Global 100.

The list uses 21 key performance indicators to evaluate companies with more than $1 billion in 2018 revenues on “resource management, employee management, financial management, clean revenue and supplier performance.” See their full methodology here. Notable criteria include:

• Carbon Productivity
• Lost-time Injury Rate
• Percentage Taxes Paid
• CEO-Average Work Pay Ratio
• Percentage Women on Board
• Percentage Clean Revenues

Using this publicly-available data, Corporate Knights assessed 7,395 companies to identify the Global 100. The list (posted below) not only identifies global leaders in corporate sustainability, it speaks volumes to the value of sewing sustainability into the corporate fabric.

Sustainable corporations enjoy better returns and greater longevity

A comparison between the Global 100 and the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) shows that “sustainable corporate performance is consistent with equal or better returns for investors and greater corporate longevity.” In fact, analysis from Solactive shows the average age of Global 100 companies is 83 years, whereas MSCI ACWI companies last 49 years on average.

Solactive also calculated an “annualized net investment return” of 7.3% for the Global 100 Index, compared to 7.0% for the MSCI ACWI.

Sustainable corporations outperform in equity and carbon efficiency

Compared to MSCI ACWI companies, Global 100 companies lead in the following categories:

Metric	Global 100	MSCI ACWI
CEO-to-average-worker-pay ratio	75:1	302:1
Carbon productivity (revenue-to-tonne-C02e ratio)	$384k	$174k
Clean revenues (from products or services with beneficial environmental or social impacts as % of total revenues)	37%	6%
% of women on boards	30%	24%
Executive pay linked to sustainability measures (% of companies having such a link)	63%	17%

SOURCE Cision.

Does supporting sustainable corporations matter? Studies find that consumer action from 3% of a marketplace would have a significant impact.

Restructuring to sustainability is possible – and profitable

This year’s most sustainable corporation, Danish renewable energy provider Ørsted, completely flipped its energy profile from 85% fossil fuels and 15% renewables to 85/15 in favor of renewables in a decade. It’s targeted 2025 to become “essentially carbon neutral.”

Neste, a Finish oil refiner ranked third on the Global 100, is currently transitioning from away from crude oil in favor of bio based materials.

Cisco, the highest-ranked U.S. company, ascended 10 spots to fourth place on the Global 100 after making “$25 billion in clean revenues from products with environmental core attributes.” The fifth-ranked company, U.S.-based Autodesk, rose 43 places after to converting to “99% renewable energy to run its cloud platforms.” Autodesk’s software powers green innovations in building, manufacturing and promoting a circular economy.

Remember, these companies were required to achieve a minimum $1 billion in revenue in 2018 to be on the list.

The Global 100 isn’t so global

Europe dominates with 49 sustainable corporations in the Global 100. 18 companies from Asia are the list, all three Latin American representatives are based in Brazil, and South Africa’s Standard Bank is the lone African company. The United States and Canada have a combined 29 companies on the list. The 16 American companies include, in order of appearance:

Cisco Systems, Inc.; Autodesk Inc; Hewlett Packard Enterprises Co; American Water; McCormick & Company; Prologis Inc; Sims Metal Management Ltd; Danaher Corporation; HP Inc; Alphabet Inc; Comerica Incorporated; Tesla Inc; Workday Inc; Merck & Co Inc; Intel Corporation; Analog Devices Inc; Campbell Soup Company.

What do we do with this information?

Everything! If sustainability has any place in your conscience, let the Global 100 influence your everyday consumer actions (what’s up Campbell Soup?) and your financial decisions (we see you Comerica Incorporated). Take a personal interest in one of these sustainable corporations by investing in stock or applying for a job in a Global 100 company.

Most important: stand back and ask, if these companies can make over $1 billion in annual revenue while championing sustainability and equity, why can’t others?

The Global 100:

Rank 2020	Full company name	Country	Peer Group
1	Orsted A/S	Denmark	Wholesale Power
2	Chr. Hansen Holding A/S	Denmark	Food and Other Chemical Agents
3	Neste Oyj	Finland	Petroleum Refineries
4	Cisco Systems Inc	United States	Communications Equipment
5	Autodesk Inc	United States	Software
6	Novozymes A/S	Denmark	Specialty and Performance Chemicals
7	ING Groep NV	Netherlands	Banks
8	Enel SpA	Italy	Wholesale Power
9	Banco do Brasil SA	Brazil	Banks
10	Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp	Canada	Electric Utilities
11	OSRAM Licht AG	Germany	Electrical Equipment and Power Systems
12	Sekisui Chemical Co Ltd	Japan	Other Materials
13	Storebrand ASA	Norway	Insurance
14	Umicore SA	Belgium	Primary Metals Products
15	Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co	United States	Computer Hardware
16	American Water	United States	Water Utilities
17	Iberdrola SA	Spain	Wholesale Power
18	Outotec Oyj	Finland	Machinery Manufacturing
19	CEMIG	Brazil	Electric Utilities
20	Accenture PLC	Ireland	Technology Consulting Services
21	Dassault Systèmes SE	France	Software
22	McCormick & Company	United States	Food and Beverage Production
23	Kering SA	France	Apparel and Accessory Products
24	UPM-Kymmene Oyj	Finland	Forestry and Paper Products
25	Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd	Taiwan	Semiconductor Equipment and Services
26	Prologis Inc	United States	Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
27	Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M)	Sweden	Apparel and Accessories Retail
28	Sanofi SA	France	Biopharmaceuticals
29	Schneider Electric SE	France	Industrial Conglomerates
30	Natura Cosmeticos SA	Brazil	Personal Care and Cleaning Products
31	BNP Paribas SA	France	Banks
32	KONE Oyj	Finland	Machinery Manufacturing
33	Verbund AG	Austria	Wholesale Power
34	Valeo SA	France	Consumer Vehicles and Parts
35	ERG SpA	Italy	Wholesale Power
36	City Developments Ltd	Singapore	Real Estate Investment and Services
37	Vestas Wind Systems A/S	Denmark	Electrical Equipment and Power Systems
38	bioMérieux	France	Diagnostics and Drug Delivery Devices
39	Intesa Sanpaolo SpA	Italy	Banks
40	Koninklijke KPN NV	Netherlands	Wireless and Wireline Telecommunications Services
41	Siemens AG	Germany	Industrial Conglomerates
42	National Australia Bank Ltd	Australia	Banks
43	Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd	South Korea	Banks
44	Bombardier Inc	Canada	Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing
45	Koninklijke DSM NV	Netherlands	Food and Other Chemical Agents
46	Unilever PLC	United Kingdom	Personal Care and Cleaning Products
47	Sims Metal Management Ltd	United States	Primary Metals Products
48	Bank of Montreal	Canada	Banks
49	Cascades Inc	Canada	Containers and Packaging
50	Advantech Co Ltd	Taiwan	Computer Hardware
51	Standard Bank Group Ltd	South Africa	Banks
52	Ericsson	Sweden	Communications Equipment
53	Danaher Corporation	United States	Medical Devices
54	Canadian National Railway Co	Canada	Cargo Transportation and Infrastructure
55	Adidas AG	Germany	Apparel and Accessory Products
56	AstraZeneca PLC	United Kingdom	Biopharmaceuticals
57	Stantec Inc	Canada	Facilities and Construction Services
58	HP Inc	United States	Computer Peripherals and Systems
59	Commerzbank AG	Germany	Banks
60	Sun Life Financial Inc	Canada	Insurance
61	ABB Ltd	Switzerland	Industrial Conglomerates
62	Alphabet Inc	United States	Internet and Data Services
63	CapitaLand Limited	Singapore	Real Estate Investment and Services
64	Pearson PLC	United Kingdom	Personal Professional Services
65	BT Group PLC	United Kingdom	Wireless and Wireline Telecommunications Services
66	Metso Oyj	Finland	Machinery Manufacturing
67	Comerica Incorporated	United States	Banks
68	Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd	Japan	Biopharmaceuticals
69	Assicurazioni Generali SpA	Italy	Insurance
70	Acciona SA	Spain	Facilities and Construction Services
71	Novo Nordisk A/S	Denmark	Biopharmaceuticals
72	Konica Minolta Inc	Japan	Computer Peripherals and Systems
73	Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB	Sweden	Banks
74	Tesla Inc	United States	Consumer Vehicles and Parts
75	Westpac Banking Corp	Australia	Banks
76	UCB SA	Belgium	Biopharmaceuticals
77	Workday Inc	United States	Software
78	Merck & Co Inc	United States	Biopharmaceuticals
79	GlaxoSmithKline PLC	United Kingdom	Biopharmaceuticals
80	Samsung SDI Co Ltd	South Korea	Electrical Equipment and Power Systems
81	Intel Corporation	United States	Semiconductor Manufacturing
82	Analog Devices Inc	United States	Semiconductor Manufacturing
83	IGM Financial Inc	Canada	Investment Services
84	Canadian Solar Inc	Canada	Electrical Equipment and Power Systems
85	BYD Co Ltd	China	Consumer Vehicles and Parts
86	Kao Corporation	Japan	Personal Care and Cleaning Products
87	BASF SE	Germany	Specialty and Performance Chemicals
88	Cogeco Communications Inc	Canada	Wireless and Wireline Telecommunications Services
89	Panasonic Corporation	Japan	Computer Hardware
90	Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd	Hong Kong	Food and Beverage Production
91	Teck Resources Limited	Canada	Metal Ore Mining
92	Toyota Motor Corporation	Japan	Consumer Vehicles and Parts
93	Campbell Soup Company	United States	Food and Beverage Production
94	Industria de Diseño Textil SA	Spain	Apparel and Accessories Retail
95	Singapore Telecommunications Limited	Singapore	Wireless and Wireline Telecommunications Services
96	Telus Corporation	Canada	Wireless and Wireline Telecommunications Services
97	Lenovo Group Ltd	China	Computer Peripherals and Systems
98	L’Oréal SA	France	Personal Care and Cleaning Products
99	Kesko Corporation	Finland	Food and Beverage Retail
100	Amundi SA	France	Investment Services

SOURCE Corporate Knights Inc.

Feature photo by Nicholas Doherty on Unsplash.