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Meet 2021's Best 50 Canadian corporate citizens

Which companies earned a spot on Corporate Knights' 2021 list of Canada's best corporate citizens?

Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada 2021

Every year since 2002, Corporate Knights has evaluated Canadian companies with annual revenue of over $1 billion on a growing number of key performance indicators. This year's Best 50 Corporate Citizens were evaluated against 24 key performance indicators,  including the clean revenue result for each company, which is percentile-ranked against industry peers and weighted at 50% toward the overall score. Who made it to the top 50?

2021 Rank2020 RankCompanyPeer GroupClimate CommitmentsFinal Score
15Hydro-QuébecPower Generation84.5%
230ÉnergirGas Utilities82.8%
34The Co-OperatorsInsuranceNZAO82.0%
429Canadian National Railway CoFreightSBTi77.8%
5#N/ACelestica IncElectronic ProductsSBTi77.0%
621Stantec IncConsulting and Professional Services1.5°C, SBTi76.7%
724EPCOR UtilitiesPower, Transmission and Distribution76.4%
88Vancouver City Savings Credit UnionBanks and Investment Services75.7%
92Toronto Hydro CorporationPower, Transmission and Distribution74.1%
1023Ivanhoé CambridgeReal Estate70.3%
1127Northland Power IncPower Generation69.3%
126Société de transport de Montréal (STM)Passenger Transportation68.9%
139Bank of MontrealBanks and Investment ServicesNZAM67.8%
1417Brookfield Renewable Partners LPPower Generation67.2%
153Alectra IncPower, Transmission and Distribution66.5%
1635Brookfield Asset Management IncBanks and Investment Services66.9%
1720Telus CorpTelecommunications1.5°C, SBTi65.9%
1816Cascades IncPackagingSBTi65.8%
1925Kruger Products LPForest Products65.3%
20#N/AInnergex Renewable Energy IncPower Generation64.6%
2118Transat AT IncHotels64.4%
2247Cogeco Communications IncTelecommunications1.5°C, SBTi64.3%
23*10

7
Transcontinental Inc

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp
Packaging

Power, Transmission and Distribution
63.8%

63.5%
24#N/AWSP Global IncConsulting and Professional Services1.5°C, SBTi63.5%
2515Canadian Pacific Railway LtdFreightSBTi62.7%
2637IGM Financial IncBanks and Investment Services62.3%
2749HSBC Bank CanadaBanks and Investment Services61.1%
2819Sun Life Financial IncInsurance60.7%
29#N/ACanadian Imperial Bank of CommerceBanks and Investment Services59.8%
30Not allocated.
31#N/AYamana Gold IncMining57.9%
3228Ontario Power Generation IncPower Generation57.0%
3312British Columbia Hydro and Power AuthorityPower, Transmission and Distribution56.0%
3439Teck Resources LtdMining55.0%
3522RioCan Real Estate Investment TrustReal Estate53.9%
3638Canadian Tire Corporation LtdGrocery and Diversified Stores53.5%
3741Manitoba Hydro-Electric BoardPower Generation52.1%
38#N/ATransAlta Renewables IncPower Generation50.0%
3911Hydro One LtdPower, Transmission and Distribution48.9%
4048BGISReal Estate49.0%
41#N/ARoyal Canadian MintMining47.5%
4231Agnico Eagle Mines LtdMining46.9%
4332Paper ExcellenceForest Products46.6%
44#N/AIamgold CorpMining46.2%
45#N/ABASF CanadaChemicals45.6%
46#N/AManulife Financial CorpInsuranceSBTi44.5%
47#N/ACanada Post CorpDelivery Logistics44.5%
4850Toronto-Dominion BankBanks and Investment Services43.7%
49#N/AiA Financial Corporation IncInsurance43.5%
5026Mouvement des caisses DesjardinsBanks and Investment Services41.6%

*companies assigned a tied position

Climate commitments
Business Ambition for 1.5C 1.5°C
Science Based Targets initiative SBTi
Fashion Charter for Climate Action FCCA
Net-Zero Asset Managers Initiative NZAM
Net-Zero Asset Owners Alliance NZAO

For complete scores across all 24 key performance indicators, download our free Excel datasheet below. 

Download Full Best 50 Corporate Citizens Scorecard

Performance indicators

Clean Revenue: Percentage of total revenue derived from products and services that are categorized as “clean” under CK taxonomy

Clean Investment: Percentage of total investments in assets that are categorized as “clean” under
CK Clean Economy Taxonomy

Board/Executive Gender Diversity: Percentage of non-male board members and executives

Board/Executive Racial Diversity: Percentage of racially diverse board members and executives

Sustainability Pay Link: At least one senior executive’s compensation tied to sustainability-themed performance targets

Percentage Tax Paid: Taxes paid in cash, as a percentage of EBITDA (operating income for financial services)

Financial Sanctions: Total fines, penalties and settlements as a percentage of revenue

Paid Sick Leave: 10 or more paid sick-leave days per year

Pension Fund Status: A series of calculations assessing the generosity/viability of defined contribution/defined benefit plans

Energy/Carbon/Waste/Waste Productivity: $ revenue per unit (gigajoule/tonne/cubic metre/tonne of waste) of non-renewable energy consumption, direct/indirect CO2e, freshwater withdrawal, waste produced

VOC/NOx/SOx/PM Productivity: $ revenue per tonne of VOC, NOx, SOx and particulate matter emissions

CEO–Average Worker Pay: How much more CEO gets paid (expressed as multiple compared to average worker)

Supplier Score Sustainability: score of a company’s largest supplier by spend

Fatalities: Fatalities per total employee count

Injuries: Lost-time injuries per 200,000 work hours

Turnover: Number of departures divided by the average total employees

*For complete methodology, click here.

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