by Jbs021109 g3 — February 16, 2009—Corporate Knights, Inc. and Innovest Strategic Value Advisors have announced their fifth annual Global 100 list of the most sustainable large corporations in the world. The Global 100 includes companies from 15 countries encompassing all sectors of the economy that were evaluated according to how effectively they manage environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities, relative to their industry peers.
The United States led the way with 20 Global 100 companies, four more than in 2008. The United Kingdom followed with 19, down from 24 in 2008, and Japan improved by two on its 2008 tally with a total of 15 companies qualifying in 2009.
Rounding out the top five countries with the most constituents were France (eight) and Germany (seven), while Canada, Finland, and Sweden each registered five Global 100 constituents. Two-thirds (65/100) of the 2008 companies remained on the list in 2009.
As the Global 100 companies are meant to isolate those firms best equipped to thrive in the long-term because of their holistic approach to managing stakeholder relationships, this year for the first time, The Global 100 traced back all 100 constituents to their year of origin to see what kind of longevity they had demonstrated to date. The average age of the 2009 Global 100 company was 102 years old, and 46 of the 2009 Global 100 companies have been in existence for at least 100 years.
