Investec sole African company on list of  2023 Global 100 ranking of most sustainable firms

20 / 01 / 2023

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• Responsible Companies

South Africa’s Investec is the sole African company on the list of the 2023 Global 100 ranking of world’s most sustainable firms issued by Corporate Knights.

This year’s Global 100 ranking of the world’s most sustainable companies, now in its 19th year, reveals that the transition is gathering momentum – and that businesses that take sustainability seriously are flourishing financially.

The top 10 companies on the list are Schnitzer Steel Industries of  the US’ Portland, Vestas Wind Systems of Denmark’s Aarhus, Brambles of Autralia’s Sydney, Bookfield Renewable Partners of Bermuda’s Hamilton , Autodesk of the US’ San Francisco, Qvoqua Water Technologies Corp of US’ Pittsburgh, Stantec of Canada’s Edmonton, Schneider Electric of France’s Rueil-Malmaison, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy of Spain’s Zamudio, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp of Taiwan’s Taipei and Dassault Systems of France’s Vélizy-Villacoublay.

Ralph Torrie, Corporate Knights’ research director, said rising oil prices have stimulated growth in renewables, smart buildings, electric vehicles and other climate solutions, including circular economy measures.Indeed, the top-ranked company, Schnitzer Steel, is a metals recycler. “Global 100 companies are providing the products and services that are needed for the sustainability transition and that will form the basis of the emerging 21st-century economy,” said Torrie. “They’ve outperformed the market through these last few tumultuous years.

The annual ranking devised by Corporate Knights quantitatively compares and ranks the world’s largest publicly traded companies, equally emphasizing the impact of a company’s operations along with its core products and services on people and the planet. The ranking is based on a rigorous assessment of 6,720 companies with more than $1 billion in revenues, among which US metal recycler Schnitzer Steel emerged as 2023’s most sustainable corporation. “For 19 years, Global 100 companies have been at the forefront of the sustainability transition. Today, they continue to outperform the blue-chip benchmark, the MSCI ACWI, and other ESG indices,” said Toby Heaps, Corporate Knights’ CEO and co-founder. “If we let the numbers speak for themselves, it’s clear that businesses taking sustainability seriously are ahead of the pack when it comes to reaping financial returns.”

The 2023 Global 100 Press Release K Global 100 companies direct nearly seven times (47% vs 7%) more capital into sustainable investments as a percent of total investments and generate 10 times (50% vs 5%) more sustainable revenue as a percent of total revenue compared to the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI). The Global 100 Index has also continually tracked higher total returns (net US$) since its inception in 2005. Even though the Global 100 does not take risk return into account, it also outperforms every other global sustainability index with at least a 10-year history, including through the turbulence of the last year.

This year’s Global 100 companies are at the cross-section of a multi-dimensional sustainability transition and are collectively exploring overlapping themes, including grid innovation, circularity and land renewal. For instance, 2022’s top-ranked company, Schnitzer Steel, acquires, processes and recycles millions of tons of scrap metal each year. Similarly, third-ranked company Brambles Ltd. leverages a “share and reuse” model to manage a network of reusable pallets, crates and containers. With 30 new companies making the ranking, the Global 100 represents a broader shift among business communities worldwide.

“For more than a century, Schnitzer has been developing robust networks to collect, process, and deliver recycled metals to customers in North America and around the world,” explains the company’s CEO, Tamara Lundgren. “Our work and our purpose have never been more relevant than they are today. Global climate commitments are requiring companies and countries to better understand the environmental impacts of their supply chains and to seek out the most sustainable materials available to achieve their carbon reduction targets and advance the circular economy. Executing our Sustainability strategy by reducing our environmental impact and developing solutions for our customers and suppliers to do the same reinforces our role as a responsible neighbor and steward in the communities in which we operate.”

Global 100 companies have a combined market value of $7.3 trillion, more valuable than the $6.8 trillion market value of the entire oil and gas sector (a number which is temporarily inflated due to the conflict in the Ukraine), positioning the Global 100 as a key driver in the global economy. And while Global 100 companies are positioning their businesses to serve the planet, they are reaping the rewards. Global 100 firms are 33 times more carbon efficient than their ACWI peers.

Global 100 company leaders are further incentivized to do good for people and the planet, with 80 of them implementing CEO sustainability pay links. For the first time, Corporate Knights assessed the percent of CEO variable compensation tied to sustainable business decisions.

“While a degree of competition incentivizes innovation among the Global 100, these companies ultimately exist within an ecosystem of businesses working to advance a shared vision,” Heaps explained. “If anything, the Global 100 highlights the abundance of opportunity and reward that exists for corporations willing to authentically adopt sustainable business practices. There is room at the top for many more. In the meantime, Global 100 companies are paving the way for a new generation of sustainability leaders.”