With experts highlighting escalating global concerns, businesses face the imperative to operate more sustainably without hindering their expansion. For the second consecutive year, TIME and Statista are releasing their annual list of the World’s Best Companies in Sustainable Growth, recognizing enterprises that excel in their respective sectors through remarkable financial achievements and environmental stewardship, marked by minimal carbon emissions, reduced water and waste output, and significant adoption of renewable energy.
Leading this year’s list is JYP Entertainment, a South Korea-based company known for identifying, nurturing, and promoting artists such as K-pop sensations and . CEO Jung Wook stated in the company that, “JYP has consistently propelled innovation within the global music sector while sustaining consistent development.” He added, “Our initiatives include targeting greenhouse gas reductions via our ‘2050 Carbon Neutrality Roadmap,’ making us the first domestic entertainment firm to [achieve 100% renewable energy use].” Wook also noted the company’s focus on tracking energy consumption, improving efficiency, and minimizing waste to promote environmentally conscious concert practices, including the use of sustainable materials for merchandise and packaging.
Nvidia, ranked sixth, , has accomplished significant environmental objectives this year, declaring that all its directly operated offices and data centers are powered by . Through innovation, Nvidia is developing GPU chips that offer greater energy efficiency for AI applications compared to conventional CPUs; its Blackwell platform, for instance, is 25 times more energy efficient for large language model inference than the Hopper generation. CEO Jensen Huang conveyed in a , “We are striving to minimize emissions across all possible fronts. We have, for the first time, released a product carbon footprint overview for a GPU-accelerated server.” He further noted, “Our findings indicate that manufacturing-related emissions are considerably lower than earlier projections—underscoring AI’s capacity to streamline products, processes, and supply chains.” Nvidia has also endeavored to comprehend its ecological footprint by monitoring greenhouse gas emissions across the entire, from raw material sourcing to manufacturing and assembly, and enhancing the of its products through initiatives that collect and dismantle older chips for component reuse in new chips.
NatWest Group, a U.K.-headquartered entity (position 17), saw a substantial ascent in the rankings, having been at no. 462, and has emerged as a prominent, declaring that it would commit 200 billion pounds ($263 billion) to support its clientele, particularly those in emission-intensive sectors like transportation and construction, in achieving their decarbonization and climate objectives. For example, in 2024, it facilitated Together Housing Group’s investment in eco-friendly enhancements for its portfolio of more than 38,000 properties. Furthermore, it has assisted McCain Foods farmers in adopting regenerative agricultural methods, such as utilizing seeds for winter cover crops to lessen nitrogen runoff and conducting worm count analyses for soil vitality. Notwithstanding recent examination of NatWest’s revised wording concerning specific climate targets, as noted by, it still maintains the lowest lending exposure to oil and gas clients among its competitors. The bank also remained a member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, while major financial institutions like Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs after President Trump’s election.
It may come as a surprise to some that Inditex, the parent company of fast fashion giant Zara, holds the 88th position. The company improved its standing by 8.3 points and 93 places from last year’s list, attributable to its swift expansion and its comparatively modest Scope 1 and 2 emissions (pertaining to its direct and acquired energy emissions), water usage, and waste generation when measured against its sector peers.
The full compilation of companies demonstrating sustainable growth is provided beneath.
