World's Best Companies in Sustainable Growth 2025

Methodology: How TIME and Statista Determined the World's Best Companies in Sustainable Growth 2025

It may be the most important question facing businesses in the fraught age of climate crisis and stakeholder capitalism: Can a company do well while doing right by the environment? The answer is yes—but a widespread belief that there are major trade-offs persists among executives, says John Sterman, a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He regularly meets with top business leaders as part of the school’s Sustainability Initiative, which he co-directs. “People are deeply stuck in this trade-off mentality: growth versus green, jobs versus the environment. These are false dichotomies.”

Still, each year thousands of businesses produce corporate sustainability reports to prove their climate change bona fides. Beware data cherry picking and greenwashing, Sterman cautions.

To understand which companies are really leading the way forward, TIME and Statista created a new methodology to identify companies around the world demonstrating both outstanding financial and environmental performance. High revenue growth and profitability compared to industry peers were just one requirement for making the cut. Companies also had to show unusually small carbon footprints (via Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, representing direct, indirect, and supply chain emissions), low water consumption and waste production rates, and high green energy usage.  

The result is a list markedly different from the Fortune 500—and other TIME company rankings, for that matter. Half of the 500 companies recognized here were not recognized on our recent business lists, including World’s Best Companies, World’s Most Sustainable Companies and America’s Best Midsize Companies. There’s no sign of Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Toyota and many other global corporate titans, either because their finances didn’t grow enough or their environmental impact was too large during the period analyzed (2021 to 2023).

Instead, there are hundreds of companies you may have never heard of on this inaugural list. Just 117 of the 500 companies on the list—and just seven of the top 20—are U.S.-based. A handful of relatively small utilities focused on renewable energy are near the top. Spain’s Solaria Energía y Medio Ambiente and Grenergy Renovables (no.s 1 and 2, respectively) have extremely low carbon emissions due to operations powered by 100% renewable energy. 

But this list still offers proof that businesses of any size and from almost any industry can see big growth while embracing sustainability. A few blue chip behemoths, such as Mastercard (no. 10), Visa (no. 12), BMW Group (no. 253) and Coca-Cola (no. 325) did make the cut, although midsize companies with annual revenue between $1 billion and $10 billion comprise about 70% of the list. 

More and more leaders are recognizing the business case for embedding sustainability to help power growth and profits, says Tensie Whelan, a professor at the NYU Stern School for Business. “Over and over again, we see enormous financial benefits.” Low-hanging fruit involves reducing costs through operational efficiencies, but gains can be made across a range of areas including supplier relations, innovation and sales and marketing, says Whelan, director of Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business, which helps businesses build the case for change. 

“There are really significant business reasons to invest versus, ‘Oh, this is just a nice thing to do,’” she says. And ultimately, of course, no economy can thrive without a healthy environment. —Jeremy Gantz