(MENAFN- EIN Presswire)
The World Benchmarking Alliance publishes its annual list of the companies with the power to substantially help or hinder the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, January 14, 2025 /EINPresswire / -- The World Benchmarking Alliance's annual list of the world's most influential companies shows the urgent need for greater accountability and meaningful action from business leaders – without which significant progress on the SDGs is not possible.
The 2,000 companies – known as the SDG2000 – are headquartered across 83 economies, with operations and supply chains spanning 221 countries and territories. They have collective revenues of $48 trillion (equivalent to 46% of global GDP).
The SDG2000 have the resources to play a central role in protecting people and the planet but are currently falling short. The companies provide the food, energy, housing, internet, transportation and financial systems on which societies depend – yet they are also collectively responsible for over half (54%) of global energy-related GHG emissions, and only a third have submitted their GHG emissions reduction targets for validation by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Forty nine companies have even withdrawn their SBTi targets.
With just five years to make important advancements towards the SDGs before the UN's 2030 deadline, and less than one fifth of targets currently on track , WBA's report, Shaping Tomorrow : The role of the world's 2,000 most influential companies in driving progress towards the SDGs, demonstrates with industry-specific examples the critical need for change and the role that business can play.
Gerbrand Haverkamp, Executive Director of the World Benchmarking Alliance, said:“Our collective future depends on the transformation of big business; WBA created the SDG2000 to help hold powerful companies to account for their social and environmental impact. Together, they represent 2000 reasons why we urgently need better business leadership, which includes holding laggards to the same standards that so many companies are not only adhering but going beyond.”
“We need to make companies' impact on people and the planet genuinely consequential to their success. I urge companies to join us in asking for stronger corporate accountability mechanisms, so that leaders are celebrated and laggards scrutinised. No single group or person can hold businesses accountable on their own: CEOs, directors, employees, customers and investors all have a critical role to play. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos is a milestone opportunity to help drive better business behaviour. We must empower greater understanding of the SDG2000 and their capacity for change.”
In January 2026, all SDG2000 companies will be simultaneously assessed by WBA on their overall sustainability impact for the first time. As the countdown begins, WBA is urging everyone connected to the SDG2000 to push these companies for faster and more meaningful action against the SDGs.
Since the first SDG2000 launch in 2020, there has been notable improvements by some companies – but not significant progress across the board. While there are leading companies in every industry and geography, change isn't yet happening at the scale needed.
Gerbrand Haverkamp continued:“The most successful businesses of tomorrow will not simply comply with regulations - they will lead on sustainability, harnessing it to drive long-term growth, mitigate risks, and enhance their brand and reputation. We need to recognise and reward those willing to break away from the pack.”
The SDG2000 list spans a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, energy, food, housing, technology, finance and transportation. The latest SDG2000 includes Amazon, Toyota, Pfizer, Shell, Zoom and Orange, as well as less widely known companies such as OCP, Wilmar International, Glencore and Newmont.
The 2,000 companies directly employ 99 million people, and hundreds of millions more through their supply chains. Women account for an estimated 38% of the SDG2000 direct employees. The companies serve billions of consumers daily. Over three fifths of the SDG2000 are in three sectors: manufacturing (31%), finance & insurance (20%) and wholesale and retail trade (10%). The majority (70%) are publicly listed, while 18% are privately held, and 12% are wholly owned by governments.
NOTES:
For more information, please contact Forster Communications: ....
Please see the full 'SDG2000' list here:
Please see the full Footprint Report here:
About the World Benchmarking Alliance
Founded in 2018, the World Benchmarking Alliance is a non-profit organisation holding 2,000 of the world's most influential companies accountable for their part in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
It does this by publishing free and publicly available benchmarks on their performance and showing what good corporate practice looks like.
The benchmarks provide companies with a clear roadmap of what commitments and changes they must make in order to put our planet, society and economy on a more sustainable and resilient path.
They also equip everyone – from governments and financial institutions to civil society organisations and individuals – with the insights that they need to collectively incentivise leading companies to keep going and pressure the laggards to catch up.
Visit and follow @SDGBenchmarks
Will Kirk
Forster Communications
email us here
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