How TIME and Statista Determined the World’s Best Companies in Sustainable Growth
The “World’s Best Companies – Sustainable Growth 2025” ranking is a comprehensive analysis aimed at identifying companies that demonstrate outstanding performance in sustainable development while maintaining strong financial health. The study focuses on three key dimensions: revenue growth, financial stability, and environmental impact. Only companies that transparently disclose their environmental data are considered for inclusion in the ranking.
The first dimension, revenue growth, was evaluated based on a company’s revenue between 2021 and 2023. To ensure a fair comparison, revenue growth was analyzed both in terms of relative growth and growth compared to the industry average. Companies were required to demonstrate consistent revenue growth during the evaluation period to be considered for a top ranking.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]The second dimension, financial stability, was assessed using well-established financial metrics, including the Piotroski F-Score and Altman Z-Score (both with 2023 data). The F-Score measures a company’s financial health by examining profitability, leverage, and liquidity, while the Z-Score assesses the likelihood of bankruptcy. Companies that showed resilience and stability, especially in times of economic uncertainty, scored highly in this category. Additionally, profitability over the last five years (2019-2023) was an important factor, ensuring that companies not only grew but maintained solid financial foundations.
The third dimension, environmental impact, was a core focus of this analysis. Using data from 2022, the evaluation covered both direct and indirect carbon emissions, categorized as Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions. Companies were assessed based on their absolute emissions, intensity of emissions compared to revenue, and the intensity of their emissions compared to their industry peers. Green energy use, water consumption, and waste management were additional key performance indicators. Companies that effectively reduced their environmental impact while maintaining operational efficiency scored highly in this dimension. Data sources included publicly available sustainability reports, environmental disclosures, and third-party environmental databases.
Once all data was collected, it was consolidated and weighted within a scoring model. The scores of all three dimensions were added on an equal percentage basis to form the final ranking score of a maximum of 100 points. The 500 companies with the highest scores were featured on the “World’s Best Companies – Sustainable Growth 2025” Ranking by TIME and Statista.