What Corporate Knights does

Corporate Knights Inc. is a Canadian sustainable-economy media and research organization founded in 2002 in Toronto by Toby A. Heaps, Paul Fengler, and Peter Diplaros. It produces corporate sustainability rankings, research reports, and financial-product ratings using a proprietary Sustainable Economy Taxonomy developed over two decades. Its flagship product is the Global 100 ranking of the world's most sustainable corporations, released annually during the World Economic Forum; the 2026 methodology refresh introduced a "sustainable revenue momentum" metric that now accounts for one-third of each company's score.

The company's product portfolio spans more than twenty rankings and reports, including the Best 50 (Canada's top corporate citizens), regional rankings (Europe 50, USA 25, APAC 50, LatAm 10), sectoral rankings (Clean 200, Responsible Funds, Sustainable Banking League Table, Carbon Reduction 20), the Private 25 and Public 25, and people-focused lists (30 Under 30, Better World MBA). It publishes a quarterly print magazine with circulation of 126,000+, distributed via The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Adjacent offerings include CK Story Studio (custom sponsored content), the Climate Dollars sectoral report, and the Portfolio Decarbonizer and Social Purpose Transition Pathway assessment tools.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of magazine subscriptions, ranking and report sales via the corporate website, sponsored content partnerships, and at least one index licensing relationship (Mackenzie Investments). The company operates with a lean team of 11–50 employees, is privately held by its three founders, and maintains an advocacy function through the Council for Clean Capitalism established in 2012. The Board includes CEO Toby Heaps as Chair, author Adria Vasil, and consultant James Harris (former Leader of the Green Party of Canada).

Name

Corporate Knights

Legal name

Corporate Knights Inc.

Website

https://corporateknights.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Corporate Knights is a Canadian sustainable-economy media and research organization that produces corporate sustainability rankings, research reports, and a quarterly magazine for business leaders, policymakers, and investors, using a proprietary taxonomy refined over two decades.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Research and Rankings

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (54182)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG & Sustainability Research (FSACAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

ESG Data, Ratings & Climate Benchmarks (FSAFAIAI), Sustainability & ESG Reporting (GRI/SASB/ISSB/CSRD) (EUAHAJAB), ESG Reporting, Disclosure & Regulatory Compliance (SFDR, EU Taxonomy, TCFD/ISSB) (FSAAALAK)

Keywords

• Sustainability rankings
• ESG research reports
• Corporate sustainability media
• Responsible investment analysis
• Climate finance research

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Corporate Knights produces corporate sustainability rankings, research reports, and a quarterly magazine evaluating corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Its flagship Global 100 ranking assesses public companies with revenue over US$1 billion, alongside Best 50 (Canada), Clean 200, Responsible Funds, regional rankings, and specialized reports such as Climate Dollars.

Product overview

Corporate Knights is a sustainable-economy media and research organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of sustainability-focused products. The core offerings include the quarterly Corporate Knights Magazine (circulation 126,000+) and multiple sustainability rankings. The flagship product is the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World ranking. Additional ranking products include Best 50 (Canada's top corporate citizens), Climate Dollars (climate investment gap analysis), Responsible Funds (sustainable investment rankings), 30 Under 30 (youth sustainability leaders), Top 40 MBA/Better World MBA (sustainable business education), Clean 200 (clean revenue leaders), and Future 50 (Canada's fastest growing sustainable companies). Regional rankings include Europe 50, USA 25, APAC 50, and LatAm 10. Additional products include Sustainable Banking League Table, Carbon Reduction 20, Earth Index, and Social Purpose Transition Pathway. Research resources include the Corporate Knights Sustainable Economy Taxonomy and ranking methodology documentation. The organization also spearheads the Council for Clean Capitalism advocacy initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Corporate Knights Research Division: The company's research division produces global sustainability rankings, research reports and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance.
• Corporate Knights Magazine
• Council for Clean Capitalism

Products and services

• Global 100 Annual ranking of the world's 100 most sustainable corporations based on rigorous assessment of public companies with revenue over US$1 billion, evaluating sustainable revenue momentum, sustainable revenue ratio, and sustainable investment ratio. Released each year during the World Economic Forum.
• Best 50 Annual ranking of Canada's top corporate citizens, evaluating sustainable business practices among Canadian companies.
• Corporate Knights Magazine Award-winning quarterly magazine focused on climate change, responsible investing, and innovations shaping a sustainable economy. Distributed in The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal with circulation of 126,000+.
• Climate Dollars Sector-by-sector report analyzing Canada's climate investment gap, providing modelling and analysis on capital investments needed for a zero-emission economy.
• Responsible Funds Annual ranking of the most sustainable ETFs and mutual funds, evaluating responsible investment strategies and ESG performance.
• 30 Under 30 Annual ranking recognizing 30 youth leaders under the age of 30 making significant contributions to sustainability.
• Top 40 MBA / Better World MBA Annual ranking of the world's most sustainable MBA programs, evaluating business schools on sustainability integration in curricula.
• Clean 200 Ranking of the top 200 publicly listed companies by clean revenue, identifying corporations leading clean economy solutions.
• Future 50 Ranking of Canada's fastest growing sustainable companies.
• Europe 50 Ranking of Europe's 50 most sustainable corporations, applying Corporate Knights' Global 100 metrics to the European market.
• USA 25 Ranking of the top 25 most sustainable corporations in the United States.
• APAC 50 Ranking of the Asia Pacific region's 50 most sustainable corporations.
• Private 25 Ranking of the world's 25 most sustainable private companies.
• Public 25 Ranking of the 25 most sustainable public-sector companies in the world.
• Sustainable Banking League Table Analysis and ranking of banks' sustainability performance and climate finance practices.
• Carbon Reduction 20 Ranking identifying the 20 major polluters that cut the most carbon over a decade.
• Earth Index Research index tracking corporate sustainability performance and environmental metrics.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Mackenzie InvestmentsminorOthers · 5 November 2025Mackenzie Investments announced changes to the methodology of the Corporate Knights Global 100 Index, which will take effect around January 21, 2026. The revisions include a simplified scoring framework and stricter exclusion criteria, aiming to enhance sustainability standards.
• Council for Clean CapitalismcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Corporate Knights spearheaded the Council for Clean Capitalism in 2012, a multi-industry group of leading Canadian companies dedicated to advocating for economic and social-policy changes that reward responsible corporate behaviour. The council is hosted at cleancapitalism.com.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• MSCI ESG Research: MSCI ESG Research is the largest institutional ESG ratings and analytics provider, serving asset managers with sustainability data and indices. It competes with Corporate Knights in sustainability rankings and is the dominant incumbent that Global 100 and Clean 200 are benchmarked against.
• S&P Global Sustainability: S&P Global Sustainability (including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, formerly SAM) provides corporate sustainability assessments feeding major indices. It overlaps with Corporate Knights' Global 100 and serves similar institutional clients seeking sustainability benchmarks.
• FTSE Russell ESG Indices: FTSE Russell (LSEG) produces ESG indices and corporate sustainability ratings integrated into mainstream benchmarks. It competes with Corporate Knights in the index-licensing and corporate ESG rating space and serves overlapping asset-manager clients.
• Bloomberg ESG: Bloomberg offers embedded ESG data, scores, and analytics within its terminal product, a default distribution channel for asset managers. It overlaps with Corporate Knights' sustainability rankings and competes for the same institutional investor wallet.

Direct peers

• Sustainalytics (Morningstar): Sustainalytics produces company-level ESG risk ratings widely used by asset managers, placing it as a direct competitor to Corporate Knights' Global 100 and Clean 200 rankings. Both target institutional investors needing comparable corporate sustainability performance scores.
• ISS ESG: ISS ESG provides ESG ratings, analytics, and screening products used by asset owners and asset managers. It directly competes with Corporate Knights' Responsible Funds and corporate sustainability rankings for institutional sustainability data budgets.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): CDP runs the global environmental disclosure system used by investors, companies, and cities to measure and manage climate, water, and forest impacts. It is a direct operational peer to Corporate Knights in producing company-level sustainability rankings used by investors and policymakers.

Emerging players

• GRESB: GRESB produces sector-specific ESG benchmarks for real assets (real estate, infrastructure) used by institutional investors. It is comparable to Corporate Knights' approach of issuing scored sustainability rankings and is an emerging player in a Corporate Knights-adjacent niche.
• EcoVadis: EcoVadis provides business sustainability ratings used by procurement teams to evaluate suppliers on ESG performance. It is comparable to Corporate Knights' methodology-driven sustainability scoring for corporates and competes for adjacent buyer budgets in supply-chain sustainability.
• Just Capital: Just Capital ranks large U.S. corporations on stakeholder performance and uses the rankings to mobilize capital toward responsible companies. It is a direct comparator to the Global 100 in methodology (ranked sustainability performance) and mission (capital reallocation through transparency).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/corporateknight
• Facebookfacebook.com/corporateknights

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Corporate Knights