Since its inauguration in 2005, Corporate Knights’ have annually been ranking the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations. The ranking is announced annually in connection with the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Continuing to up their game in the transition to greener economies, companies are reporting a sustained correlation between sustainable business and high returns and an increase in diverse leadership among boards and executive teams.

The annual ranking quantitatively compares and ranks the world’s largest publicly traded companies, emphasizing the impact of a company’s operations and 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 US$1 billion in revenues, among which six Danish companies can be found as the world’s most sustainable.

Danish companies are once again a part of the top table

Second on the list, only beaten by this year’s top-ranking American Schnitzer Steel Industries, we find Danish wind giants Vestas. Since its establishing in 1945, Vestas has evolved from hydraulic crane production into the largest of all wind turbine manufacturers, being responsible for nearly one-fifth of global installed wind power capacity. As last year’s top spot holder and with a constant focus on accelerating the energy transition, Vestas has once again cemented its position as one of the most sustainable companies in the world.

On the 13’th spot of the list, we find the Danish energy major Ørsted. Being no stranger to the top of the list, this years position cements Ørsted’s position as a leading green energy company in the world. Previously known as DONG (Danish Oil and Natural Gas), Ørsted has in only ten years gone from being the most fossil fuel intensive utilities in Europe. Today, the energy major develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants.

Read more about the journey from black to green here.

For the first time, Danish Rockwool Group also breaks into the list, flying directly on to a impressing number 16’th of the most sustainable companies in the world. Rockwool offers a full range of high-performing and sustainable insulation products for the construction industry, adding to creating new opportunities to enrich modern living and build safer, healthier, and more climate resilient communities.

Chr. Hansen (18), Novozymes (23) and Coloplast (43) are the other Danish entries amongst the global top 100 sustainability leaders.

See the full list: 2023 Globale 100 most sustainable companies