HP Inc., Ingersoll Rand, Owens Corning, Dell Technologies, and Graphic Packaging Holding Company top this year's U.S. rankings, recognized for outstanding sustainability transparency and performance. 3BL research reveals something promising.
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / September 15, 2025 / 3BL announced today the annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking, recognizing outstanding environmental, social, and governance transparency among the 1,000 largest U.S. public companies.
HP Inc. earned the top ranking for the second consecutive year, with Ingersoll Rand, Owens Corning, Dell Technologies, and Graphic Packaging Holding Company rounding out the top five.
View the 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2025 ranking here.
Even as the conversations around corporate responsibility and sustainability shift in the United States, the nation's largest companies continue to increase their levels of disclosure and performance. Average scores across the 100 Best Corporate Citizens increased by 2.5% in 2025 and are up nearly 4% over the past two years. This means tougher competition for top placement, as the gap in overall weighted scores between the No. 1 and No. 100 ranks is more than 5% smaller than it was two years ago.
"It's been a challenging year for responsible business, but the companies on this list have shown the courage to stay the course," said Charlie Wilkie, CEO of 3BL. "In a climate where trust is the new KPI, they're proving that transparency and accountability aren't just ideals - they're the foundation of stronger companies. The 100 Best Corporate Citizens exists to spotlight that strength, and to push the standard for corporate leadership higher every year."
Only four companies - HP, Ingersoll Rand, Owens Corning, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise - retained their place in the top 10, making way for new top-10 entrants Dell Technologies, Graphic Packaging, The Hershey Company, Intel, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Keysight Technologies.
New 3BL research creates an even stronger link between corporate sustainability leadership and financial performance over time. Annual return for companies recognized among the 100 Best Corporate Citizens was 2.2% higher than the S&P 500 from January 2022 to July 2025, according to the latest backtesting study of the ranking, conducted by 3BL. Those that stayed the most consistent and placed on the ranking multiple times saw returns up to 14% higher than the S&P benchmark.
These numbers are compelling, but do they tell the full story? 3BL polling shows that even as companies increase their levels of sustainability ambition, many of their customers don't know about it - or worse, they don't trust what brands say. To better understand how sustainability relates to business success, 3BL analyzed the financial performance of the 100 Best companies in the context of a growing crisis of consumer trust few business leaders are talking about.
Download 3BL's whitepaper to learn more.
The 100 Best Corporate Citizens evaluates Russell 1,000 companies based on 219 factors across seven pillars, including climate change, employees, environment, governance, human rights, and stakeholder relations. After integrating dozens of new factors in 2024 to more accurately assess corporate performance as well as disclosure, 3BL limited year-over-year changes to the ranking methodology. As in prior years, data for the ranking was supplied by ISS-Corporate, a provider of data and analytics to corporations. 2025 changes include increasing the weight of some performance-based factors introduced in 2024, along with incorporating the most recent developments in third-party rating methodologies based on data provided by ISS-Corporate.
"Sustainability remains an integral part of corporate strategy, and the 3BL ranking showcases the importance and continued relevance of forward-thinking policies and practices as well as transparency," said Kosmas Papadopoulos, Head of Sustainability Advisory-Americas at ISS-Corporate. "We are pleased to continue supporting 3BL's annual assessment of corporate citizenship through the provision of world-class data and analytical tools to objectively discern the top corporate sustainability performers in the U.S. "
Unlike other rankings, the 100 Best Corporate Citizens relies solely on publicly available data and information, eliminating the need for questionnaires or company submissions, and there is no fee for companies to be considered. To ensure accuracy, companies can verify the data collected for the ranking at no cost. The data and information used for the 2025 ranking were published between June 2024 and June 2025.
3BL has also partnered with InfluenceMap since 2021 to assess the intensity and orientation of a company's lobbying efforts and whether this lobbying is supportive or oppositional to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. A "red flag" penalty is assessed if a company's lobbying is deemed oppositional to Paris-aligned policies, and a "green flag" bonus is awarded to recognize firms using their political influence and spending in support of the agreement. In 2025, VF Corp. (No. 2 in the Consumer Durables and Apparel industry and No. 65 overall) is the only company to receive the "green flag" bonus.
As in 2024, Capital Goods and Materials companies are the most heavily represented in this year's ranking, collectively making up 29% of the top 100 scorers. Top performers in the Capital Goods sector include top-three ranked Ingersoll Rand and Owens Corning, along with Trane Technologies (No. 12) and Xylem (No. 21). No. 5 Graphic Packaging, along with Dow (No. 11), International Flavors & Fragrances (No. 16) and LyondellBasell Industries (No. 17) lead the Materials industry.
About the 100 Best Corporate Citizens Ranking
The 100 Best Corporate Citizens has ranked the largest publicly-traded companies in the United States based on sustainability disclosure and performance since 1999. It has been published in Business Ethics Magazine, Corporate Responsibility Magazine and now digitally by 3BL. To compile the ranking, each company in the Russell 1,000 Index is ranked according to its transparency and performance on 219 environmental, social and governance factors. View the methodology here.
About 3BL
3BL is the leading sustainability and social impact communications partner, connecting organizations' stories of purpose and progress with the audiences who matter most.
3BL partners with over 1,500 companies - from global corporations and mid-sized enterprises to NGOs and nonprofits - to elevate their reputations as players in the world of responsible business. We do this through unrivaled news and content distribution, bespoke storytelling support, and our digital media division, TriplePundit.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from 3BL on 3blmedia.com.
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SOURCE: 3BL
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/3bl-announces-100-best-corporate-citizens-of-2025-1073424
