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Few money managers can claim as fearsome a reputation as Paul Singer, the litigious, self-made billionaire and activist investor from Teaneck, New Jersey. Singer is both feared and renowned for his ability to unlock value for shareholders by overhauling executive teams he believes are weak, woke or underperforming. The pugilistic 80-year-old founder of Florida hedge fund Elliott Management has been described as a “ financial terrorist ” for his practice of buying sizeable stakes in public comp
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, the notion that sustainability and profitability are mutually exclusive is increasingly being debunked. At Trane Technologies , we are proving that a robust sustainability strategy embedded in a business plan can drive significant value and growth. Our commitment to sustainability has not only enhanced our own operations—it has helped our customers operate more sustainably—and propelled our financial performance and innovation to new heights.
In April 2024, posters began appearing around Toronto promoting May 12 as “the first annual Steal from Loblaws Day.” In the cheerful Loblaws colours – yellow, red and orange – the general public was encouraged to do what many felt the grocery giant had been doing to them over the years: rob it blind. The resentment fuelling this campaign, for which nobody took responsibility, was widely shared.
When the women-only fitness club Curves opened a franchise in Kincardine, Ontario, in 2001, a number of locals flocked to join. The Texas-based company was expanding across North America, capturing a lucrative market in older women looking for non-judgmental, affordable workout spaces. And when, 12 years later, the Curves franchise in Kincardine closed shop – buckling under a rent hike and pressure from headquarters – those same women lost a valuable part of their lives.
History has a habit of reducing exceptional people to a singular achievement: John A. Macdonald to confederation, Nellie McClung to women’s suffrage, Frederick Banting to insulin. But just as these accomplishments are never the work of one person alone, so too are these people more than one consummate feat. When most Canadians hear the name Ken Dryden, for instance, they think hockey.
Toronto, Canada, June 25, 2025 – Renewable electricity producers occupy two of the top three spots in the 2025 edition of Corporate Knights’ ranking of the Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada. Quebec-based Boralex Inc. climbed from 15 th spot on the 2024 list to become the top-ranked company this year. Alberta-based design and engineering firm Stantec once again took second spot, while Quebec-based Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. – among last year’s top five – is in third spot this year.
Who are this year’s top international corporate citizens in Canada? They are selected from companies that are not listed or headquartered in Canada and have the highest scores on the Corporate Knights sustainability rating methodology employed for the 2025 Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world. Click here to find out what companies made the 2025 Best 50.
If there’s one big takeaway from the results of Corporate Knights’ annual survey of Canada’s Best 50 Corporate Citizens, it’s that there’s no such thing as “business as usual” anymore. The Best 50 ranking was first developed back in 2002 to track the sustainability journeys of Canada’s most environmentally and socially conscious companies. This year’s list shows that corporate Canada’s ethical vanguard is not only actively reducing its carbon footprint, but finding new and creative ways to conne
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a candid appraisal of the demands of our current era: “We will have to do things we haven’t imagined before, at speeds we didn’t think possible.” That’s true across the globe, as the climate emergency becomes an ever-present danger. And it’s true here, in Canada, as we grapple with setting a path to net-zero that has widespread buy-in because it makes sense and is necessary.
At approximately 12:30 p.m. on Monday, April 28, all of Spain and Portugal as well as a sliver of France were plunged into what was described by Reuters as the biggest blackout in Europe’s history. Chaos ensued. More than 50 million people were without power, metro and commuter trains were paralyzed, ATMs stopped functioning, the internet shut down.
When it comes to low-hanging fruit in the climate fight, methane is ripe for the picking. Methane may have a lower profile than carbon dioxide, but the notoriously underreported greenhouse gas is a key driver of climate change. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), it is responsible for 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution.
Of all the companies in the world embracing sustainable business practices, Europe has long claimed a disproportionate share of the best and most ambitious. For 20 years, Corporate Knights has rated and ranked the most sustainable corporations globally, and European companies have consistently earned top marks. It should come as little surprise, then, that in Corporate Knights’ inaugural Europe 50 ranking , the top company, Schneider Electric, also achieved the highest marks in the 2025 Global 1
The path to a cleaner economy is well-populated by net-zero targets, but credible plans to achieve those goals have remained elusive. Now, a finance-driven initiative called Business Future Pathways wants to help Canadian companies do what’s needed to get fossil fuels out of their business models. From the perspective of the urgency of the climate crisis, progress toward real transition plans has been agonizingly slow.
Sustainable Food Products and Agriculture Definitions The post Sustainable Food Products and Agriculture Tier 2 Definitions appeared first on Corporate Knights.
As capital flows toward investments labelled as green or transitional, investors need confidence that these labels reflect genuine alignment with climate science. Without clear standards, increased capital flows mean increased risk that climate finance becomes a branding exercise rather than a meaningful driver of decarbonization. The accelerating transition away from fossil fuels and toward electrification and renewable energy presents both risks and opportunity to investors.
In public debates about reducing transportation-related carbon, transit agencies typically sit on the side of the angels, and many have pressed their advantage with pledges to replace their diesel bus fleets with zero-emission vehicles (ZEV). Yet progress has been halting because of cost, technical issues around charging and the pervasive caution of transit managers.
As the circular economy assumes an ever-more-prominent position in the worlds energy transition, more start-ups are finding innovative ways to reuse the riches that already surround us. One of these start-ups is Quebec e-waste recycler enim. It recently announced a partnership with the Royal Canadian Mint to explore how minerals it retrieves from obsolete electronic devices specifically, printed circuit boards can be incorporated into the mints products.
This is not your average plot of southwestern Ontario farmland. In May, a 10-acre tract of land in Haldimand County officially turned into Canadas largest grid-scale battery storage facility, and one of the largest in the world. Now, 278 lithium-ion battery units are drawing and storing surplus power from Ontarios electricity grid, doubling the provinces energy storage capacity to 475 megawatts and providing a bolstered electrical backbone to surging demand.
This is the fifth installment of our six-part Masters of Metamorphosis series , in which we look at corporations that have reinvented themselves in order to seize opportunities in the energy transition. The road to vehicular electrification seems to be paved with both great ambition and serious bumps. A heady optimism surrounded EVs after Tesla launched its first highway-legal roadster in 2008.
This is the fifth installment of our six-part Masters of Metamorphosis series , in which we look at corporations that have reinvented themselves in order to seize opportunities in the energy transition. According to those who study consumer habits, millennials and Gen Zs are looking for two things when they go shopping: sustainability and individuality.
This is the fourth installment of our six-part Masters of Metamorphosis series , in which we look at corporations that have reinvented themselves in order to seize opportunities in the energy transition. In 2016, New Yorks Elmhurst Dairy closed its doors as the last remaining fluid-milk plant in the city. The following year, under the continued leadership of second-generation owner Henry Schwartz, the company rebranded as Elmhurst 1925, shifting its focus to plant-based milks.
Brothers and sisters all, humanity has lost one of its courageous moral voices but his legacy lives on in the countless lives he touched, and in the movements he inspired. For me, this moment is not just for mourning, but for deep gratitude. We have been fortunate to witness a rare kind of leadership. At a time of widening divides among nations, within societies, and between humanity and the planet he offered a steady hand and a moral compass.
In its deep dive into the worlds most sustainable private- and public-sector companies, Corporate Knights revealed an undeniable fact: public-sector companies are doing essential work when it comes to moving the needle toward a greener global economy. Canadian public-sector companies represent an outsized share of the effort, representing more than half, or 13, of the top 25, in addition to companies from across Europe and Australia.
While publicly traded companies often dominate the headlines, private companies are a much larger part of the global economy. Worldwide, there are more than 95,000 private companies with annual revenues over US$100 million, compared to only 10,000 public companies over that threshold, according to a 2023 report from investment management firm Hamilton Lane.
An effective, all-in response to the global climate emergency can revitalize local economies across Canada while strengthening national sovereignty and economic security, an extensive new analysis by Corporate Knights Climate Dollars project concludes. The analysis identifies the investments in our buildings, vehicles and power grids that are needed toshiftour energy use to electricity and set a path to a zero-emission economy by 2050.
Heat pumps are essential for ditching fossil fuels. The appliances are many times more efficient than even the best gas furnaces, and they run on electricity, so they can draw power from renewables like wind and solar. But the very thing that makes them such an amazing climate solution is also their biggest challenge. A common refrigerant called R-410A pumps through their innards so they can warm and cool homes and offices and anything else.
The climate activist group Just Stop Oil (JSO) has announced the end of its campaign of direct action. Many will read the groups legacy through the lens of public hostility: the frustration caused, the angry headlines, the outrage at its tactics. Not only have JSO activists been spat at, physically assaulted and run over by angry car drivers, but 15 members are also currently serving jail sentences following arrests and charges.
Hospitals around the world generate millions of tonnes of plastic waste annually. Much of this waste comes from single-use items such as face masks, surgical gloves, syringes, IV tubes and sterile packaging materials. Whats worse is that many of these medical plastics arent biodegradable. This means they can persist in landfills or oceans for centuries.
For decades, policymakers and energy planners have operated under a simple assumption: modern development requires a national power grid. The industrialized world was built on centralized energy infrastructure massive plants, sprawling transmission networks, tightly controlled by state-backed utilities. In Africa, this model has failed spectacularly.
Imagine you are choosing between two similar investment options. One has a green label, promising to fund climate-friendly projects and assets. The other offers a slightly higher return, but has no green label. Which do you choose? My recent study explored this question. My co-researchers and I found that, for most retail investors individual, non-professional investors the presence of a green label mattered more than the actual environmental impact of the bond or the higher financial return o
European political leaders have proposed a massive revamp of sustainable business and finance transparency laws in a move they say will improve the European Unions competitiveness and save more than 6 billion in social and environmental disclosure costs. Yet the so-called simplification omnibus bill proposed by the European Commission (EC) the executive branch of Europes government has come under widespread criticism.
Its a pastoral scene straight out of Middlemarch , with a steampunk twist: flocks of woolly sheep wandering a green expanse, cropping grass and resting from the noonday sun in the shade of row upon row of shimmering black photovoltaic arrays extending to the horizon. The solar panels provide clean energy; the sheep provide cheap lawnmowing services that keep the panels from overheating.
In this weeks Corporate Knights Drill-Down, we highlight a compelling financial case for divesting from fossil fuels. Our analysis of nine public pension funds across the world reveals that shifting investments away from fossil fuels and reinvesting these amounts into the Mackenzie Corporate Knights Global 100 Index ETF not only aligns with sustainability goals but can also deliver stronger financial returns.
Oil and gas companies are influencing what Canadian students learn about climate change, funding and supplying educational materials that frame the issue to serve their interests, health and climate advocates warn in a new report. At least 39 fossil fuel companies and 12 industry-linked organizations including Shell, TC Energy, and the Pathways Alliance have supplied classroom resources that downplay the sectors role in driving global heating, states a new report.
Drill, baby, drill may be the new mantra out of the Oval Office, but the bottom line tells a different story. If speed is an indicator of success, then the clean energy economy is showing its muscle through robust growth, regardless the sector or corner of the world. California-based shareholder advocates As You Sow and Corporate Knights today released the new cohort of the Carbon Clean200, a global list of 200 publicly traded companies leading the sustainable clean energy economy.
Clean 200 Methodology The Clean200 are the largest 200 public companies ranked by clean revenue. The ranking was first calculated on July 1, 2016, and publicly released on August 15, 2016, by Corporate Knights and As You Sow. The current list has been updated with data through January 29, 2025. The Clean200 companies are ranked by their clean revenues in U.S. dollars.
In this weeks Corporate Knights drill-down, we take a look at the sustainable revenue trend in one of the fastest growing tiers of the Corporate Knights taxonomy - Energy Storage and Batteries. Driven mainly by the rising demand from electric vehicles and renewable energy storage requirements, Sustainable Revenue from this tier has grown 350% between 2019 and 2023.
Clean 200 Methodology The Clean200 are the largest 200 public companies ranked by clean revenue. The ranking was first calculated on July 1, 2016, and publicly released on August 15, 2016, by Corporate Knights and As You Sow. The current list has been updated with data through January 29, 2025. The Clean200 companies are ranked by their clean revenues in U.S. dollars.
Climate campaigners have filed a complaint against WPP , the London-based advertising giant, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), stating that it has violated key corporate guidelines on climate and human rights. Adfree Cities and the New Weather Institute filed the complaint this week with the UK branch of the OECD.
Sales in the Renewable Energy category are by far the largest category of sustainable revenue in the Corporate Knights Global Sustainable Economy Intelligence database , with nearly USD 5 trillion recorded so far for the period 2019-2023. This category includes solar and wind energy, batteries and energy storage, and the transmission and distribution of renewable energy.
Its not always all about China. In this weeks CK Drill Down, we focus on a subset of our sustainable investment database consisting of 800 large companies that we have been tracking since 2018, including 175 from the U.S.A, 69 from China, and 222 from Europe. In 2023 the European companies invested over 3.5 times more in sustainable production than the American companies, and four times more than the Chinese companies.
Skip to ranking If theres one thing the private sector craves most from government, its clear, stable policies. But in the coming year, many businesses will have no such luck as they navigate major changes to the global tax and regulatory environment that has been encouraging investment in more sustainable technologies and practices. While the new U.S. president will be taking aim at legislation that resulted in nearly US$300 billion in private-sector investments in clean energy, battery manufac
Ten years after the securities regulations came into force, which established a disclosure regime regarding the number and percentage of women sitting on a board of directors, or holding an executive position, where do we stand? Has there been any progress? We are, respectively, the dean of the John Molson School of Business and an expert for decades on the place of women in the upper echelons of the business world, and we have combed through the tenth Review of Disclosure Regarding Women on Boa
As the opening date of this years COP29 climate meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, approached, the guest list continued to thin. Heads of state from France, Germany, Canada, China, India, Brazil, Russia and the United States, among others, bowed out. King Charles excused himself. Greta Thunberg boycotted. Their reasons varied, from head injuries to domestic troubles to principled stands against the host countrys human rights record, but taken together, the regrets struck an ominous tone.
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