The World Benchmarking Alliance has announced that it is expanding its focus from assessing 450 high-emitting sector companies to evaluating all 2,000 companies on its SDG2000 list.
The expanded initiative will see the Alliance assess the ‘credibility and integrity’ of each firm’s just transition plans, to ensure that workers and communities affected by climate policies receive adequate support.
Since 2020, the WBA has assessed 450 companies from the highest-emitting sectors with regard to both their alignment with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, as well as their contributions to a just transition.
‘Every innovation is valuable’
‘In a carbon-constrained world, every gram of CO2 matters, and every innovation is valuable,’ the WBA said in a statement. ‘Every company, regardless of its sector, has a role to play in the transition to a global low-carbon economy, building resilience to climate impacts, and ensuring that no one is left behind.
‘Furthermore, providing solutions for workers and communities is essential to ensuring broad support for climate action and ensuring that we transition at the necessary pace.’
Insights on the first 1,000 companies are set to be revealed at COP30, taking place in Belém, Brazil later this year, while results for all 2,000 companies will be released in January 2026.
About the SDG2000
Companies in the SDG2000 are headquartered across 83 different economies, span 221 countries and territories, and have collective revenues of $48 trillion, equivalent to 46% of global GDP.
Announcing the publication of the annual SDG2000 list earlier this year, 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.
“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.” Read more here.
