100 Most Sustainable Companies

Sarah Ward
Special Contributor
February 7, 2014

Conscious Capitalism

Corporate Knights has once again announced the world’s 100 most sustainable companies. Check out the list and the surprising realities of the kind of financial efficacy these firms face!

Adidas ranks #8 in the world's mosts sustainable companies.

Credit: Rod Senna via Flickr

Everything from global food security to rebuilding trust in the finance sector was covered at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

But amidst the political rhetoric and the financial jargon was one particular announcement that every sustainable professional should have been paying attention to... Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media company, made public it’s tenth edition of the world’s most sustainable companies list - more often referred to as the Global 100.

What is most intriguing about this list, which is arguably one of the most intense scrutinizations of corporate and social responsibility, is the holistic view it takes on the term “sustainability.” In addition to the widely accepted aspects of eco-friendly, resource-efficient behavior, Corporate Knights is also seeking lean input to output ratios, responsibility leadership, and long-term interests in health and safety.

What they found is wildly invigorating, especially after the recent buzz about 2013 green technology investments falling. Specifically, the report claims that the world's most sustainable companies outperform their less sustainable brethren.

“The Global 100 make it clear that not only is it possible to lead on resource productivity and respect for the social contract, but that it is possible to do this and outperform the benchmark on financial returns,” states Corporate Knights editor-in-chief Toby Heaps.

Sadly, only one of the top ten were US companies, with European-based firms dominating 80% of the top ten percent. Nevertheless, the US was the top performing country overall, with 18 firms making the cut. Newcomers to the list, of which there were 31 in all, included L’Oreal, Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola .

Below are the top ten of the Global 100:

1. Westpac Banking Corporation
2. Biogen Idec
3. Outotec OYJ
4. Statoil ASA
5. Dassault Systemes SA
6. Neste Oil OYJ
7. Novo Nordisk A/S
8. Adidas AG
9. Umicore SA
10. Schneider Electric SA

Want to know more? Consider this in-depth article from Forbes, or check out some of the live webcasts from the World Economic Forum directly on their website. Either way, you’re bound to learn something useful!