France and Denmark Lead EU in Corporate Sustainability, Schneider Electric Tops Global Ranking
The 2025 Global 100 index, compiled by Corporate Knights, has identified Schneider Electric, a French electrical equipment firm, as the world’s most sustainable company. This annual ranking evaluates thousands of global corporations with revenues exceeding $1 billion, based on a comprehensive set of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) indicators. These indicators encompass a wide range of factors, including carbon emissions, water usage, sustainable investments, employee compensation, and gender equality within the workforce. This holistic approach reflects a growing emphasis on incorporating sustainability and ethical practices as integral components of business operations. Notably, the 2025 index highlights the strong performance of European companies, particularly those based in France and Denmark, showcasing their leadership in embracing sustainable business models.
The Global 100 list features a notable presence of French companies, alongside firms from Denmark and Germany, reflecting Europe’s focus on sustainable practices. Beyond the EU, Australian companies also occupy prominent positions, with Sims waste management and Brambles furniture ranking second and fourth respectively. This global representation underscores the increasing international recognition of the importance of corporate sustainability. The assessment methodology used by Corporate Knights involves analyzing 8,359 companies with revenues greater than $1 billion, providing a robust sample size for evaluating corporate sustainability performance on a global scale.
A key finding of the report is the significant investment in green initiatives by the top 100 companies. In 2023, these companies allocated 58% of their capital expenditures, research and development, and acquisitions to environmentally focused projects. This figure is considerably higher than the 15% average investment in sustainable initiatives by other large corporations (also defined as having revenues exceeding $1 billion), demonstrating the Global 100’s commitment to sustainable growth. This substantial allocation of resources underscores the growing recognition of the financial viability and long-term value of investing in environmentally sound practices.
The report highlights a positive correlation between sustainable investments and increased revenue generation. Over the past five years, sustainable revenues have grown at twice the rate of other revenue streams for major global public companies, exceeding $5 trillion annually for the largest publicly traded companies tracked by Corporate Knights. This demonstrates that sustainability is not merely a cost center but can be a significant driver of financial performance. The increased profitability of sustainable business practices further incentivizes companies to prioritize environmental and social responsibility.
Despite the long-term success of Global 100 companies in outperforming benchmark indices, the 2024 period presented some challenges. The Global 100’s investment returns trailed the MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) – a broad global equity market performance indicator – marking a departure from its historical outperformance since the index’s inception in 2005. Corporate Knights attributes this temporary dip to three primary factors. The high interest rate environment prevalent in 2024 increased borrowing costs and hindered company growth. The Global 100’s underrepresentation of US firms, which generally performed well in 2024 including the "Magnificent 7" tech stocks, also impacted returns. Finally, the Global 100’s exclusion of weapons manufacturers, a sector that saw strong returns in 2024, further contributed to the underperformance relative to the MSCI ACWI.
However, despite the temporary setback in 2024, Corporate Knights maintains a positive outlook for the Global 100 companies. The identified factors contributing to the lower returns are considered transient, and the long-term trend of strong performance driven by sustainable investments is expected to continue. The growing emphasis on ESG considerations by investors, coupled with the increasing profitability of sustainable business practices, suggests that these companies are well-positioned for future growth and market leadership. The 2024 underperformance is viewed as a temporary deviation rather than a fundamental shift in the long-term viability and attractiveness of sustainable investing.
