Corporate Communications

The World’s Leading ESG Companies in 2022

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Which companies are taking the lead on environmental, social and governance in 2022? Click to learn more.

Which companies have the best track record with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance? This is an increasingly important question. The rise of stakeholder capitalism – in which investors evaluate businesses for how well they balance profits with their investment in people and society – has exerted tremendous pressure for businesses to become better corporate citizens, which is where a a commitment to ESG comes into play. In addition, there is a growing recognition that businesses with a strong commitment to ESG among their employee base perform better.  With all that as a backdrop, research and investment firm JUST Capital has released a new ranking of the 100 top-performing ESG firms. And the results say a lot about the state of ESG today. 

What Does the JUST Capital Ranking Evaluate? 

JUST Capital is a research and investment firm that publishes rankings, investable indexes, and in-depth financial analysis to support the business and investor case for just business behavior. The company was founded in 2013 with a single goal: to drive investment capital toward more just companies, thereby incentivizing a more just and equitable marketplace.  

The JUST 100 is a comprehensive ranking of companies on ESG issues critical to stakeholders, from their workers and shareholders to customers, communities and the environment. The Top 100 are the 100 top-performing companies across all industries for 2022. The companies are evaluated across a range of metrics in these categories: 

  • Workers: how a company invests in its employees (39 percent weighting). 
  • Communities: how a company supports its communities (20 percent weighting). 
  • Shareholders and governance: how a company prioritizes good governance (19 percent weighting). 
  • Customers: how a company treats its customers in areas such as data privacy (11 percent ranking). 
  • Environment: how a company minimizes its environmental impact (10 percent). 

One may quibble with the evaluation criteria – for example, many might argue that the environment deserves a stronger weighting. But on the other hand, placing a strong weight on how a business treats its employees is arguably more important than ever. Employees who thrive in an inclusive environment may very well make the company more effective across all categories because the company’s values align with theirs. 

It’s also worth noting that JUST weights the categories based on an ongoing survey that asks Americans about what they believe U.S. companies should prioritize most when it comes to just business behavior. So, consider the weighting to reflect the overall priorities of the American population. This may explain the importance of treating employees well, given the heightened attention placed to employee well-being since 2020. 

As CEO Myron Knapp wrote about the JUST rankings, “Let this sink in: The top ESG issue for Americans is NOT climate, but workers. Specifically, how workers are treated . . . The people, employees, the local communities and then extended communities should be the contextual lens through which companies craft and focus ESG policies and compliance.” 

Who Are the Top 10 ESG Companies for 2022? 

JUST Capital identifies the following in its Top 10: 

Alphabet  

Intel  

  • ESG Statement: intc.com/esg 
  • Core strength: customers 
  • JUST Capital: “Performs well on customer privacy by providing expansive disclosure across multiple privacy related issues we track – for example, providing advanced notice of privacy policies changes, giving users full control over their own data, and publishing what specific user information it collects” 

It’s also worth noting that Intel ranks Number One for its diversity and inclusion practices among its employees. 

Microsoft  

Microsoft is also the second highest ranked firm for its commitment to the environment. (VMWare, ranked Top 55 overall, ranked Number One here.) 

Salesforce  

Bank of America  

  • ESG Statement: about.bankofamerica.com/en/making-an-impact/esg-reporting 
  • Core strength: communities  
  • JUST Capital: “Scores highly on our second most important Issue from the public: providing employment opportunities for communities that need them, and primarily in the U.S.” 

PayPal 

  • ESG Statement: investor.pypl.com/esg-strategy/ 
  • Core strength: environment  
  • JUST Capital: “Reduces the environmental impact of its products and services by using sustainable materials and renewable energy” 

Apple 

  • ESG Statement: investor.apple.com/esg/default.aspx  
  • Core strength: environment  
  • JUST Capital: “Apple has set a goal to become carbon neutral across its entire operations, including its manufacturing supply chain and the life cycle of its products, by 2030” 

NVIDIA 

Verizon 

Cisco 

Conclusions from the Rankings 

  • These are not necessarily the 10 highest performing companies financially speaking – that’s not the purpose of the JUST ranking. But it’s interesting to note that seven out of these 10 firms showed increases in their stock value year-over-year as of this writing. According to JUST, the Top 100 overall companies in the JUST 100 earn nearly 4.5 percent more and pay 19 percent more in dividends than the rest of the Russell 1000. 
  • Neither are these the 10 best at communicating their commitment to ESG. IDX recently evaluated the Top 10 leaders in ESG communications online. Of the 10 firms above, only Verizon cracked the list (although our list was not confined to U.S. firms). So, consider Verizon to have the strongest intersection between actions and words. Meanwhile, four other U.S.-based firms made our Top 10 for communications: Merck Group (ranked 26 by JUST), Johnson & Johnson (ranked 49 by JUST), ExxonMobil (ranked 89 by JUST) and Pepsi (ranked 13 by JUST).  
  • The JUST 100 is important because it creates a yardstick to hold corporations accountable. Right now, businesses face a trust problem, especially with Gen Z. Third-party metrics give businesses credible content to close the trust gap. As Saira Malik, Chief Investment Officer, Equity; Global Portfolio Manager at Nuveen, wrote, “News that Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company) has been named an ESG leader reminds us of the value of building brand trust through commitments to corporate social responsibility – particularly as customers and investors alike are sharpening their focus on ESG themes.” Metrics provide hard data on which to ground an ESG communications outreach. As our own research shows, data is increasingly like gold with ESG efforts. As businesses tout their successes with ESG, the marketplace is getting cluttered with claims. Data will separate the leaders from followers.  

Finally, the JUST 100 may prove to be a benchmark to understand which companies will prevail amid “The Great Resignation” that has intensified the importance of employee recruitment and retention. According to a CNBC analysis of the rankings, “The reasons for companies to lean into ESG aren’t limited to external communities. ‘In a lot of cases, it is for their own employees,’ Elizabeth Levy, portfolio manager and head of ESG strategy at ESG investment firm Trillium Asset Management, said, noting that the current labor market is not one in which companies which are slow to place emphasis on ESG issues will win the war for talent.” 

A Resource to Help Corporations 

Our report The ESG Agenda will help your business get started telling a more effective story about your ESG commitment. The report contains tips for how businesses can discuss ESG in ways that build trust with all their audiences. As noted, we also rank – for the first time – the Top 10 businesses around the world that articulate their commitment to ESG via digital. Read this report to understand what a successful ESG story looks like -- and how to get started telling yours more effectively. 

Learn more about our ESG & Sustainability services, here or contact IDX to amplify your ESG story in a more powerful way.