These 200 companies are leading the clean economy in 2023

The Clean200 ranks the top publicly traded global corporations that put sustainability at the heart of their business

2023 clean 200 Corporate Knights

In 2016, things seemed somewhat dire for the clean energy transition. The election of Donald Trump meant the United States would soon pull out of the Paris Agreement. While there were record global investments in renewables that year, there were fears that Trump would undo some of the progress that had been made up until that point.  

It also happened to be the same year Corporate Knights and As You Sow launched the Clean200 – a list of publicly traded companies worldwide that are leading the clean energy charge. Things have changed quite a bit since then as investors have poured a growing amount of money into the energy transition and green companies have thrived. If an investor had put $10,000 into the Clean200 in July 2016, that investment would have grown to $19,121 by the end of January 2023. 

“The Clean200 has demonstrated consistently that what we called the ‘clean energy’ future seven years ago is now the clean energy present,” says Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. “This year, the scale and global diversity of leading companies continue to expand and redefine the term ‘cleantech’ to be any company that has products and services that will reduce demand for fossil fuels and water.” 

The Clean200 lists the 200 major corporate players from 35 countries around the world that are at the forefront of the energy transition and put sustainability at the heart of their products, services, business models and investments, helping to move the world onto a more sustainable trajectory. On average, 58.3% of revenues earned by Clean200 companies are classified as sustainable, representing close to $2.4 trillion (all figures in U.S. dollars) in revenue, roughly unchanged from last year and significantly above the 5% average sustainable revenue for their MSCI ACWI peers.  

The United States dominated the 2023 list, with 42 companies on the Clean200, while China had the second-largest share with 21, followed by Japan, which is headquarters to 16 Clean200 companies. U.S. companies had, on average, the highest sustainable revenue at $23 billion. This is followed by Germany with $18 billion and South Korea at $17 billion. 

There are 90 new companies on the list this year, and some of those companies cracked the top 10, including Deutsche Telekom (in third place), Verizon Communications (fourth), Agricultural Bank of China (sixth) and Contemporary Amperex Technology (10th). Apple and Alphabet, as last year, ranked first and second, respectively.  

Of the 2023 Clean200 companies, the information technology sector accounted for nearly a quarter of the total sustainable revenue at $586 billion, followed by the communications services sector ($542 billion) and the industrials sector ($400 billion).

This year’s Clean200 companies rose to the top of a pool of 6,720 global firms based on rigorous assessment of the amount of revenue each company earns from products and services aligned with the Corporate Knights Sustainable Economy Taxonomy, while also ensuring that their businesses are not fundamentally offside important criteria for socially responsible investors, including being a company flagged by As You Sow’s Invest Your Values platform, which identifies fossil fuels, weapons, private prisons, thermal coal or having a record of systemically obstructing climate policy. 

CLEAN200 PERFORMANCE VS. BENCHMARK

Of note, it was found that on average 44.4% of the capital expenditure, acquisitions, and research and development expenses among the Clean200 companies were defined as sustainable by the Corporate Knights Sustainable Economy Taxonomy, compared to only 7% among MSCI ACWI constituents. On sustainable investments, the utilities and industrials sectors led with $50 billion each, followed by the communications services sector at $24 billion in sustainable investments. 

“It is telling that even on the back of a banner year for fossil fuel stocks, the Clean200 continued its six-plus-year track record of outperformance against both fossil-fuel and blue-chip benchmarks,” says Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights. 

While we’ve made great progress since 2016, we need to go further faster. For the first time, global investment in renewables rose above $1 trillion in 2022. But the International Energy Agency says we need to increase that amount to around $4 trillion per year by 2030 in order to reach net-zero by 2050.  

THE CLEAN200

Rank NameGICS SectorCountry
1Apple IncInformation TechnologyUnited States
2Alphabet IncCommunication ServicesUnited States
3Deutsche Telekom AGCommunication ServicesGermany
4Verizon Communications IncCommunication ServicesUnited States
5Tesla IncConsumer DiscretionaryUnited States
6Agricultural Bank of China Ltd FinancialsChina
7TSMCInformation TechnologyTaiwan
8Iberdrola SAUtilitiesSpain
9HP IncInformation TechnologyUnited States
10Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd IndustrialsChina
11Schneider Electric SEIndustrialsFrance
12Cisco Systems IncInformation TechnologyUnited States
13Intel CorpInformation TechnologyUnited States
14Nucor CorpMaterialsUnited States
15Siemens AGIndustrialsGermany
16CRRC Corp Ltd IndustrialsChina
17SoftBank Corp Communication ServicesJapan
18Unilever PLCConsumer StaplesUnited Kingdom
19KDDI Corp Communication ServicesJapan
20Vestas Wind Systems A/SIndustrialsDenmark
21LG Chem Ltd MaterialsRepublic of Korea
22Adidas AGConsumer DiscretionaryGermany
23Tianneng Power International Ltd Consumer DiscretionaryCayman Islands
24LONGi Green Energy Technology Co Ltd Information TechnologyChina
25Steel Dynamics IncMaterialsUnited States
26Bank of China Ltd FinancialsChina
27BT Group PLCCommunication ServicesUnited Kingdom
28Abb LtdIndustrialsSwitzerland
29SK Telecom Co Ltd Communication ServicesRepublic of Korea
30Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA IndustrialsSpain
31Advanced Info Service PCL Communication ServicesThailand
32Indorama Ventures PCL MaterialsThailand
33BNP Paribas SAFinancialsFrance
34Pfizer IncHealth CareUnited States
35Hewlett Packard Enterprise CoInformation TechnologyUnited States
36EDP Energias de Portugal SAUtilitiesPortugal
37CEMIGUtilitiesBrazil
38Samsung SDI Co LtdInformation TechnologyRepublic of Korea
39Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA UtilitiesBrazil
40Johnson Controls International PLCIndustrialsIreland
41Banco do Brasil SAFinancialsBrazil
42Enerjisa Enerji ASUtilitiesTurkey
43Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd IndustrialsChina
44Byd Co LtdConsumer DiscretionaryChina
45Gilead Sciences IncHealth CareUnited States
46Bristol-Myers Squibb CoHealth CareUnited States
47China Yangtze Power Co Ltd UtilitiesChina
48Alstom SAIndustrialsFrance
49Sanofi SAHealth CareFrance
50Carrier Global CorpIndustrialsUnited States
51Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd MaterialsJapan
52Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Ltd MaterialsBermuda
53Kone OyjIndustrialsFinland
54DS Smith PLC MaterialsUnited Kingdom
55Rexel SAIndustrialsFrance
56Outokumpu OyjMaterialsFinland
57Kering SAConsumer DiscretionaryFrance
58SAP SEInformation TechnologyGermany
59Union Pacific CorpIndustrialsUnited States
60JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd Information TechnologyCayman Islands
61VMware IncInformation TechnologyUnited States
62Umicore SAMaterialsBelgium
63Energisa SA UtilitiesBrazil
64Merck KGaAHealth CareGermany
65BCE Inc Communication ServicesCanada
66Telefonaktiebolaget LM EricssonInformation TechnologySweden
67Ecolab IncMaterialsUnited States
68Telus Corp Communication ServicesCanada
69Air Liquide S.A.MaterialsFrance
70Capital One Financial CorpFinancialsUnited States
71NIO Inc Consumer DiscretionaryCayman Islands
72Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd Consumer DiscretionaryJapan
73Applied Materials IncInformation TechnologyUnited States
74Prysmian SpAIndustrialsItaly
75Nordex SEIndustrialsGermany
76Kingspan Group PLCIndustrialsIreland
77Panasonic Corp Consumer DiscretionaryJapan
78Lenovo Group LtdInformation TechnologyHong Kong
79Swisscom AGCommunication ServicesSwitzerland
80Orsted A/SUtilitiesDenmark
81Bank of Communications Co Ltd FinancialsChina
82Nokia OyjInformation TechnologyFinland
83Industria de Diseno Textil SAConsumer DiscretionarySpain
84Industrial Bank Co Ltd FinancialsChina
85International Business Machines CorpInformation TechnologyUnited States
86Smurfit Kappa Group PLCMaterialsIreland
87Toray Industries Inc MaterialsJapan
88Commercial Metals CoMaterialsUnited States
89Essity AB (publ)Consumer StaplesSweden
90Li Auto IncConsumer DiscretionaryCayman Islands
91Yadea Group Holdings Ltd Consumer DiscretionaryCayman Islands
92Nexans SAIndustrialsFrance
93Asustek Computer Inc Information TechnologyTaiwan
94Sims LtdMaterialsAustralia
95China Everbright Environment Group Ltd IndustrialsHong Kong
96Waste Connections US IncIndustrialsCanada
97Singapore Telecommunications Ltd Communication ServicesSingapore
98Signify NVIndustrialsNetherlands
99Henkel AG & Co KgaAConsumer StaplesGermany
100Sungrow Power Supply Co Ltd IndustrialsChina
101Akzo Nobel NVMaterialsNetherlands
102Evonik Industries AGMaterialsGermany
103Brambles LtdIndustrialsAustralia
104Astellas Pharma Inc Health CareJapan
105Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd Communication ServicesTaiwan
106Giant Manufacturing Co Ltd Consumer DiscretionaryTaiwan
107CSX CorpIndustrialsUnited States
108Xerox Holdings CorpInformation TechnologyUnited States
109Rogers Communications Inc Communication ServicesCanada
110Companhia Paranaense de Energia UtilitiesBrazil
111Trane Technologies PLCIndustrialsIreland
112Norfolk Southern CorpIndustrialsUnited States
113Koninklijke KPN NVCommunication ServicesNetherlands
114East Japan Railway Co IndustrialsJapan
115Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower Inc UtilitiesChina
116Konica Minolta IncInformation TechnologyJapan
117Dassault Systemes SEInformation TechnologyFrance
118GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd Information TechnologyCayman Islands
119Canadian National Railway CoIndustrialsCanada
120Engie Brasil Energia SAUtilitiesBrazil
121Danaher CorpHealth CareUnited States
122Stanley Black & Decker IncIndustrialsUnited States
123GEM Co Ltd MaterialsChina
124China Railway Signal & Communication Corp Ltd Information TechnologyChina
125FirstGroup PLC IndustrialsUnited Kingdom
126Acciona SAUtilitiesSpain
127Rengo Co Ltd MaterialsJapan
128Shimano Inc Consumer DiscretionaryJapan
129Risen Energy Co Ltd Information TechnologyChina
130Veolia Environnement SAUtilitiesFrance
131GS Yuasa Corp IndustrialsJapan
132Canadian Solar IncInformation TechnologyCanada
133WSP Global IncIndustrialsCanada
134West Fraser Timber Co Ltd MaterialsCanada
135Light Servicos de Eletricidade SAUtilitiesBrazil
136Lopez Holdings Corp UtilitiesPhilippines
137Autodesk IncInformation TechnologyUnited States
138Brookfield Renewable Partners LPUtilitiesBermuda
139Koninklijke Philips NVHealth CareNetherlands
140Johnson Matthey PLC MaterialsUnited Kingdom
141Proximus NVCommunication ServicesBelgium
142Kimberly-Clark CorpConsumer StaplesUnited States
143Rockwool A/SIndustrialsDenmark
144Clean Harbors IncIndustrialsUnited States
145Ricoh Co LtdInformation TechnologyJapan
146China Three Gorges Renewables Group Co LtdUtilitiesChina
147Intesa Sanpaolo SpAFinancialsItaly
148Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co Ltd IndustrialsChina
149Beijing Enterprises Water Group Ltd UtilitiesBermuda
150KGHM Polska Miedz SA MaterialsPoland
151Swatch Group AGConsumer DiscretionarySwitzerland
152EnerSysIndustrialsUnited States
153Celestica IncInformation TechnologyCanada
154Stadler Rail AGIndustrialsSwitzerland
155Equinix IncReal EstateUnited States
156McCormick & Company IncConsumer StaplesUnited States
157Acuity Brands IncIndustrialsUnited States
158Sherwin-Williams CoMaterialsUnited States
159MLS Co Ltd Information TechnologyChina
160Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo SABESP UtilitiesBrazil
161Camel Group Co Ltd IndustrialsChina
162Suzlon Energy Ltd IndustrialsIndia
163First Solar IncInformation TechnologyUnited States
164Cascades IncMaterialsCanada
165Puma SEConsumer DiscretionaryGermany
166Dupont De Nemours IncMaterialsUnited States
167Cheng Loong Corp MaterialsTaiwan
168Wartsila Oyj AbpIndustrialsFinland
169Canadian Pacific Railway LtdIndustrialsCanada
170Packaging Corp of AmericaMaterialsUnited States
171China Datang Corp Renewable Power Co Ltd UtilitiesChina
172West Japan Railway Co IndustrialsJapan
173Valeo SAConsumer DiscretionaryFrance
174Schnitzer Steel Industries IncMaterialsUnited States
175Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd Information TechnologyCayman Islands
176Atea ASAInformation TechnologyNorway
177Renewi PLC IndustrialsUnited Kingdom
178Greif IncMaterialsUnited States
179Companhia de Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia Coelba UtilitiesBrazil
180Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd Consumer DiscretionaryCayman Islands
181Workday IncInformation TechnologyUnited States
182STMicroelectronics NVInformation TechnologyNetherlands
183Eisai Co LtdHealth CareJapan
184CapitaLand Investment LtdReal EstateSingapore
185Meridian Energy Ltd UtilitiesNew Zealand
186ASM International NVInformation TechnologyNetherlands
187GMexico Transportes SAB de CV IndustrialsMexico
188Central Japan Railway Co IndustrialsJapan
189Lanxess AGMaterialsGermany
190Brookfield Renewable CorpUtilitiesCanada
191Celsia SA ESP UtilitiesColombia
192Sterling & Wilson Solar LtdIndustrialsIndia
193City Developments LtdReal EstateSingapore
194Gotion High-tech Co LtdIndustrialsChina
195Verbund AGUtilitiesAustria
196Natura & Co Holding SAConsumer StaplesBrazil
197Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co FinancialsPhilippines
198Viatris IncHealth CareUnited States
199AECOMIndustrialsUnited States
200EDP Renovaveis SAUtilitiesSpain

METHODOLOGY

The Clean200 are the largest 200 public companies ranked by clean revenue. The ranking was first calculated on July 1, 2016, and publicly released on August 15, 2016, by Corporate Knights and As You Sow. The current list has been updated with data through January 31, 2023.  

The Clean200 companies are ranked by their clean revenues in U.S. dollars. The data set is developed through assessment of a company’s revenue that aligns with the definitions laid out in the Corporate Knights Sustainable Economy Taxonomy, primarily sourced from Corporate Knights research. To be eligible, a company must earn more than 10% of total revenues from clean sources. 

The Clean200 uses negative screens. It excludes all oil and gas companies, all utilities that generate less than 50% of their power from green sources, the top 100 coal companies measured by reserves, the top 100 oil and gas companies as measured by reserves, as well as all fossil fuel companies, majority fossil-fired utilities, pipeline and oil-field-services companies, and other fossil-fuel-related companies screened on As You Sow’s Fossil Free Funds. In addition, the Clean200 excludes weapons companies, including major military arms manufacturers found on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Top 100 arms-producing and military services list, as well as cluster munitions, nuclear weapons and civilian firearm manufacturers screened on As You Sow’s Weapon Free Funds. The Clean200 also excludes palm oil, paper/pulp, rubber, timber, cattle and soy producers that are screened on As You Sow’s Deforestation Free Funds; companies that use child or forced labour, are involved in the manufacture of harmful pesticides, and that engage in negative climate lobbying are not included. The full list of exclusionary screens is provided below.  

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