Unilever, Patagonia, WWF and Greenpeace viewed as most sustainable brands

In this year's GlobeScan/Sustainability Leaders Report over 800 experts were asked, unprompted, which companies are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy, and once again Unilever features as the top mentioned company by a significant margin (38%, up 5 points from 2014).

Patagonia is the only other company to be mentioned by more than 10%t of experts and remains in second place. BASF is the only newcomer to the top 10 rankings list in 2015 with three percent of mentions. Other companies listed in the top 10 include: Interface (8%), Marks & Spencer (6%), Natura (5%), IKEA (5%), Nestle (4%), GE, Nike and Coca Cola (each respectively at 3%).

For the first time, experts were also asked about NGOs and Governments. WWF and Greenpeace stand far ahead of the NGO pack as far as perceived sustainable development leadership, followed by Oxfam and World Resources Institute.

Germany (25%) and Scandinavian governments (Sweden 21%, Denmark 16% and Norway 13%) dominate the country leadership ranking.

Eric Whan, director of Sustainability at GlobeScan, commented: “While the ability to engage and collaborate drives the reputation of NGOs, respondents primarily measure the leadership performance of governments and companies by how well their values align with their sustainable development goals. And increasingly so, experts believe that corporate leadership requires integration of sustainability into core business models. For governments, effective action on energy and climate change is viewed as the second most important quality of a true leader—a timely finding as Paris looms.”

Read the full report here.

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