In its deep dive into the world’s most sustainable private- and public-sector companies, Corporate Knights revealed an undeniable fact: public-sector companies are doing essential work when it comes to moving the needle toward a greener global economy.
Canadian public-sector companies represent an outsized share of the effort, representing more than half, or 13, of the top 25, in addition to companies from across Europe and Australia.
From the ranking leader Hydro-Québec’s $155-billion green-energy expansion plan, to 12th-place Bpifrance bank’s financing solar and wind power loans, the inaugural list shows how investments in renewable energy pay off. There’s a continued push toward innovation, such as that displayed by the Royal Canadian Mint (#4) and the purchase of equipment that boosts the amount of material it recovers from its silver bullion blanking process. While the United Kingdom’s Network Rail Ltd. (#7) has drawn revenue by electrifying routes, Farm Credit Canada has seen returns on “women entrepreneur loans” totalling more than $2.9 billion.
1. Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec has been a leader in clean hydroelectric energy for the last 75 years, the exports of which have enriched the province to the tune of $4 billion in 2024 alone. Now, the company is boosting its investments in windenergy. Already, 44 wind farms generate more than 4,000 megawatts (MW), and that figure will climb to 10,000 MW as part of Hydro-Québec’s Action Plan 2035. This future power output – enough for about two million households – is a critical element of its strategy to decarbonize sectors like transportation and building heating. This all part of the utilities program to invest between $155 and $185 billion in green energy by 2035.
2. Toronto Hydro
Toronto Hydro is the final leg of electricity delivery to nearly 1.7 million households in Canada’s largest city. By 2040, the company has pledged to reach net-zero emissions in its operations, which will expand in an effort to help the city reach its own net-zero goals. Toronto Hydro estimates it will invest $10 billion in climate infrastructure across the city – EV charging, equipment renewal, etc. – before 2050, and 75% of the city’s net-zero strategy relies on these investments. Toronto Hydro reported that in 2022, there was an 8% reduction in its emissions over the previous year, representing a 40% reduction over 2018.
3. Statnett
“We are facing an increasingly challenging threat landscape,” says Statnett CFO and executive vice president Cathrine Lund Larsen, referring to geopolitical tensions in Europe and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. Despite these challenges, the owner-operator of Norway’s transmission grid recorded 1.7 billion kroner in profit for 2024. The company plans to more than double its investment in the country’s power systems over the next 10 years. It will do so under new sustainability reporting requirements, with carbon dioxide pricing on construction contracts, and with a focus on minimizing the impact on Norway’s natural areas.
4. Royal Canadian Mint
In 2023, Canada’s coin producer released its inaugural Impact Report and committed to making its manufacturing carbon-neutral by 2030. To meet this goal, the Royal Canadian Mint has taken major steps, including a massive investment in new geothermal power infrastructure at the Winnipeg Mint. In 2023, the Mint offset 491 tonnes of emissions, and it is now pioneering more sustainable methods of gold refining and mineral sourcing. Today, thanks to the Mint’s sustainability and recycling efforts, 88% of coins in circulation are recirculated, dramatically curbing the demand for new coin production.
5. Alectra
Alectra is a utilities company that services more than one million homes and businesses around the Greater Toronto Area. Since the inception of its Green Energy and Technology Centre – described by Brian Bentz, the company’s president and CEO, as “the think tank, collaboration hub, and ground zero for innovation” – Alectra has launched new initiatives to modernize the grid, use AI for infrastructure management and explore multiple pilot projects for incorporating new technology. Since 2016, the company has achieved about a 17% reduction in its own emissions and has pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
6. Société de Transport de Montréal
The Société de Transport de Montréal has been a force for economic growth and sustainable development in Quebec. The service transports 1.1 million people on average on a business day, and its ridership has been growing, with 2024 seeing a 9.2% increase over 2023. According to its Sustainable Development Plan 2030 and a 2016 study, roughly 20 tonnes of emissions can be saved for every one that STM emits. STM is currently electrifying its fleet and implementing new improvements to its bus and rail infrastructure; currently, 48.6% of its bus fleet is either hybrid or electric. Two of STM's projects have been LEED Gold-certified, and two major infrastructure projects have received the Envision award.
7. Network Rail
Network Rail owns, operates and develops more than 20,000 miles of track; 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts; and thousands of transit stations across the United Kingdom. The company is aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2050 and has taken major steps toward achieving that goal, including electrifying the busiest parts of its system, purchasing more renewable energy and trialling new hydrogen and battery trains. These sustainability plans also require building more resilient infrastructure to account for increasingly severe weather events, and the creation of biodiverse havens across 52,000 hectares of land occupied by its rail networks.
8. Export Development Canada
Export Development Canada is a crown corporation that strategically invests to help Canadian companies expand internationally. Since pledging to reach net-zero emissions in 2050, EDC set a number of interim targets that it has achieved ahead of schedule. In 2023, EDC provided a record $12.2 billion in support for cleantech businesses, beating its target of $10 billion by 2025. The corporation also reduced its exposure to its most carbon-intensive sectors – including upstream oil and gas – by 69% over 2018, exceeding the original 45% target. This year, EDC introduced a new framework to classify, track and report on the sustainability of all its investments.
9. Fingrid
Finland has a famously clean energy system. Last year, 95% of the country’s power production was emission-free thanks to the preponderance of nuclear and wind power. Now that the country’s energy needs are rising quickly, Fingrid, the public company that administers the country’s grid, has risen to meet the challenge. The amount of energy produced by wind energy is expected to rise to 9,500 MW, up from just 1,800 MW five years ago, and the company is now offering green bonds to help finance €4 billion in investments to help the country meet its net-zero targets by 2035.
10. Statkraft
Statkraft is Norway’s energy producer and the largest generator of renewable energy in Europe, including hydropower, wind power – with a portfolio that has expanded to include projects in South America and India – and solar. In total, about 97% of the energy Statkraft generates comes from renewables, and 100% of its profits are reinvested in renewables, both in own operations and across a wide range of initiatives in biofuels and green hydrogen.
11. Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board
Manitoba Hydro has been quantifying and reporting its own greenhouse gas emissions for the last 30 years. The crown corporation is one of the largest integrated electricity and natural gas utility companies in Canada, serving more than 600,000 electricity customers and nearly 300,000 for natural gas. Nearly all of Manitoba’s electricity – an estimated 99.6% – comes from renewables. The company had set a voluntary threshold for emissions on its operations of 520 kilotonnes (kt) based on stepwise reductions from 1990 levels. In 2023, it came in at just 128 kt: 75% lower than its target.
12. Bpifrance
Bpifrance is a French public-sector bank that bills itself as a “one stop shop for entrepreneurs.” The bank has more than €100 billion in assets and strategically invests in initiatives to promote a “more inclusive and sustainable French economy.” That now includes €7.6 billion in financing for projects powering the country’s ecological and energy transition, and a commitment to exclude coal, gas and oil from its investments. Bpifrance has also committed to reducing its own emissions by 55% before 2030 and has received exemplary assessments from five separate ESG ratings agencies.
13. EPCOR Utilities
“The ironic thing about sustainability is that it’s hard to sustain” – it’s an odd sentiment to hear in a sustainability report, but it’s one that underscores EPCOR’s commitment to getting its strategy right. Formerly the Edmonton Power Corporation, EPCOR manages the city’s water, wastewater, natural gas and electricity distribution. It also operates in other Canadian provinces and in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The utility spent years fine-tuning its sustainability strategy to ensure that it made sense long-term. That evolution has resulted in reductions in EPCOR’s gas emissions, a 95% wastewater reuse rate in parched regions of the United States, and $4.9 billion in economic value delivered across multiple jurisdictions.
14. Vygruppen
The Vy Group is the largest land-based transport group in the Nordic countries. Owned by the Norwegian government, it operates rail passenger services, bus fleets, freight services, as well as in various tourism capacities. Last year, the company transported 213 million passengers, an emissions savings of about 400,000 passenger vehicles. Vy has developed a set of guidelines aimed at saving the country one million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by the end of this year. In pursuit of this goal, it has already electrified nearly half of its fleet of buses and continues to expand less carbon-intensive forms of transport.
15. British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority
BC Hydro services 95% of British Columbia’s population – more than five million people. The company boasts some of the cleanest power generation anywhere in North America, with 91% of its power coming from hydroelectric sources. Its subsidiary, Powerex, is a net exporter of clean energy to Alberta, Washington State, Oregon and California. Though BC Hydro contributes less than 1% of the province’s total emissions, by 2023 the company had already achieved a 61% reduction in emissions over its baseline. New studies and programs are underway to help the company better deal with climate-related risks, including fires, drought and storms.
16. NBN
NBN is Australia’s broadband provider, a company tasked with building and operating the network that connects the island continent. About seven in 10 homes and businesses in rural and regional Australia are currently served by fixed-line technology, but by the end of this year, NBN’s network upgrades will ensure that 1.6 million more Australians have access to fibre connections. In a country that is uniquely vulnerable to climate risks, NBN’s goal is to “operate a climate-resilient, resource-efficient network.” In 2024, the company lowered its emissions 19% compared to its 2021 baseline and pledged to implement 100% renewable-energy use for its own operations by the end of this year.
17. Alliander
Alliander is the developer and operator of the Netherlands’ energy networks. Last year, the Dutch company’s operations were carbon-neutral, a feat it achieved by greening its fleet of vehicles, reducing energy use in its buildings and IT systems, and limiting grid losses. But there is more work to be done. Electricity accounts for about 18% of the country’s total energy use, but that figure is expected to rise to 50% by 2050. Last year alone, the company invested €1.8 billion in its infrastructure, and there is now additional focus on eliminating supply-chain-related emissions.
18. European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is the European Union’s investment bank and one of the largest financial institutions in the world. It is also one of the biggest green financiers globally. It was the world’s first financial institution to issue green bonds, back in 2007, and in 2019, it announced that it would stop funding fossil fuel projects – a move that accompanied a promise to invest €1 trillion in climate and environmental projects by 2030. Most recently, those projects include a major hydroelectric project in Spain and renewable-energy initiatives in Chile, among many others. In 2024, the bank invested an estimated €44.8 billion in climate action and environmental sustainability, which was about 60% of its total financing.
19. Farm Credit Canada
With the global population expected to increase to 9.7 billion by 2050, Canada remains one of very few nations capable of meeting the projected demand for agricultural production. Facing unprecedented natural threats, Farm Credit Canada has mobilized new resources to support a wide range of producers – from Quebec’s maple syrup sector, whose yields suffered from unseasonable warmth in 2023, to B.C. winemakers whose vines were destroyed by the 2022 winter, to Alberta farmers affected by record-breaking wildfires. Last year, FCC invested $2.2 million in new agricultural tech and awarded more than $825,000 to promote new sustainable farming practices.
20. PostNord
PostNord is a logistics company jointly owned by Sweden and Denmark. In 2023, it delivered 243 million parcels across a network that spans virtually all the countries in the world. PostNord has taken steps to make its fleet emissions-free by 2030. This effort began with its “green corridors” initiative. PostNord’s routes between its largest cities and terminals are now fossil-fuel free, a move that has already saved more than 3,000 tonnes of emissions. As a result, today about 40% of deliveries to Swedish recipients – about 3.9 million parcels – are made sustainably.
21. Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation
SaskTel is Saskatchewan’s telecom company. It operates the province’s landlines, mobile networks and internet services. Since 2008, it has been publicly recognized as “one of Canada’s greenest employers,” not only for its work reducing emissions in its operations, but for minimizing waste and for its employee-driven community initiatives. In total, SaskTel donated $2.9 million in not-for-profit and charitable sponsorships last year, recycled more than 143,000 phones, and raised additional funds to support new biodiversity projects.
22. Electricity Supply Board
Ireland aims to decarbonize its electricity system by 2040. The Electricity Supply Board, which is owned and operated by the Irish government, supplies electricity and gas to almost 1.9 million customers across the island. In 2024, it connected 534 MW of new renewable electricity generation to the grid. By 2030, the company aims to meet 80% of demand from renewables, including not just wind and solar, but dedicated zero-emission gas-fired power generation from biomethane and hydrogen. These efforts also include a plan to actively restore ecosystems affected by ESB’s projects – both on land and offshore.
23. Ontario Power Generation
Ontario Power Generation administers approximately 160 power stations, including more than 150 hydroelectric stations, thermal stations, solar facilities and wind generation stations. But almost half of the 18,000-plus MW of power generated comes from just three nuclear power plants. Now, the Darlington plant is the first in North America to develop small modular reactors.
24. Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco)
The mining industry has a sustainability problem, says Codelco CEO Rubén Alvarado Vigar. In a 2023 letter, the head of the largest copper producer on the planet wrote that his “obligation is to trigger a profound break so that we become a sustainable industry that cares about the environment.” The company has made six commitments to this end, including implementing a clean electrical matrix, reducing inland water use, recycling 65% of non-hazardous waste, introducing new controls around tailings facilities, and improving air quality.
25. Canada Post
As of early 2024, there were fewer than 10 companies globally in the logistics and transportation sector to have a net-zero target recognized by the Science Based Targets initiative; Canada Post was one of them. In 2023, the Crown corporation delivered 168 million carbon-neutral shipments, alongside several other environmental achievements, including a 18.9% reduction in emissions and the diversion of 67% of waste from landfills. The company continues to pursue its goal of reaching net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2050.
Tristan Bronca is an award-winning magazine writer and editor based in Toronto.
Read more: The 2025 Private 25 most sustainable private companies in the world
| Rank | Company | Headquarters | % Sustainable revenue | % Sustainable investment | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hydro‑Québec | Canada | 95.7% | 81.2% | 71.8% |
| 2 | Toronto Hydro Corporation | Canada | 35.0% | 86.5% | 69.1% |
| 3 | Statnett SF | Norway | 98.0% | 100.0% | 68.6% |
| 4 | Royal Canadian Mint | Canada | 57.9% | 25.0% | 66.3% |
| 5 | Alectra Inc | Canada | 34.3% | 86.2% | 66.1% |
| 6 | Société de transport de Montréal | Canada | 85.6% | 90.4% | 65.5% |
| 7 | Network Rail Ltd | U.K. | 86.2% | 91.4% | 63.3% |
| 8 | Export Development Canada | Canada | 5.4% | N/A* | 61.1% |
| 9 | Fingrid Oyj | Finland | 38.3% | 100.0% | 60.4% |
| 10 | Statkraft AS | Norway | 47.5% | 96.2% | 57.5% |
| 11 | Manitoba Hydro | Canada | 82.1% | 96.5% | 55.4% |
| 12 | Bpifrance | France | 45.6% | N/A | 53.0% |
| 13 | EPCOR Utilities | Canada | 49.0% | 56.8% | 52.6% |
| 14 | Vygruppen AS | Norway | 35.7% | 28.5% | 51.0% |
| 15 | BC Hydro | Canada | 93.1% | 39.7% | 50.7% |
| 16 | NBN Co Ltd | Australia | 14.2% | 82.1% | 50.7% |
| 17 | Alliander NV | Netherlands | 31.5% | 75.9% | 50.2% |
| 18 | European Investment Bank | Luxembourg | 3.6% | N/A | 47.2% |
| 19 | Farm Credit Canada | Canada | 5.6% | N/A | 47.0% |
| 20 | PostNord AB | Sweden | 9.6% | 59.2% | 45.1% |
| 21 | SaskTel | Canada | 12.8% | 56.4% | 43.7% |
| 22 | Electricity Supply Board | Ireland | 9.0% | 86.1% | 39.8% |
| 23 | Ontario Power Generation Inc | Canada | 40.0% | 13.1% | 38.1% |
| 24 | Codelco | Chile | 36.5% | 44.8% | 37.3% |
| 25 | Canada Post Corp | Canada | 1.0% | 7.6% | 35.7% |
*N/A: Not applicable. Banks, asset management and insurance peer groups are not assessed on the sustainable investment KPI. The weight of this KPI has been reweighted to the sustainable revenue KPI.
Methodology
Our methodology for the new Corporate Knights Private 25 and Public 25 rankings uses a mix of fixed- and variable-weight ESG and sustainable-economy KPIs to score companies against their peers. We measure the share of revenues and investments that are included in the Corporate Knights Sustainable Economy Taxonomy and percent rank those ratios against the company’s CKPG (Corporate Knights Peer Group). We then give equal weight to the ratios and the percent ranks in awarding up to 25 points for sustainable revenue and up to 25 points for sustainable investment, for a total of 50 possible points.
The other 50 points are allocated to 10 ESG KPIs, including productivities for energy, carbon, waste and water, along with board and executive gender and racial diversity, taxes paid and injury rate. In addition, penalties are levied against overall scores for a number of factors, including injuries and fatalities.