2015 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada Ranking announced
Jun 03, 2015, 06:00 ET
TORONTO, June 3, 2015 /CNW/ - Corporate Knights today released its Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada list, the definitive annual ranking of Canada's top corporate citizens.
The ranking, which is in its 14th year, transparently measures a diverse range of Canadian enterprises on a suite of 12 sustainability metrics, including greenhouse gas productivity, percentage of taxes paid, health and safety performance and pension fund quality. To ensure "apples to apples" comparisons, companies are ranked exclusively against their industry peers, and scored on a 0-100% scale using only those metrics that are widely disclosed in their respective industries.
The Best Corporate Citizen for 2015 is the iconic coffee retailer Tim Hortons. It performed solidly across the board, with strong showings on waste recycling, water conservation and energy efficiency.
"We applaud Timmys for topping the list, and are hopeful that its sustainability know-how will paint a larger canvass in its new partnership with Burger King," says Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights.
The Corporate Knights Best 50 methodology for grading corporate citizenship, developed with financial support from Industry Canada, has helped clarify and raise the rigour and professionalism of what it means to be a good corporate citizen.
"Companies named to the Best 50 represent the Canadian standard for who is doing the best job of squeezing productivity out of our valuable resources while respecting the social contract with safe workplaces, paying their fair share of wages and taxes and ensuring leadership structures that reflect the rich diversity of our society," added Heaps.
An overview of the methodology for the Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada ranking is available at www.corporateknights.com/Best50_2014 and in the Best 50 2015 issue (Vol. 14.3) of Corporate Knights magazine, found in the Globe and Mail on June 4.
To track progress, Corporate Knights compared the performance of the S&P/TSX 60 companies on five of the Best 50 indicators over the past three years. There is good news on the executive compensation front, but other challenges remain:
- Two out of three companies now link part of their executive pay to sustainability performance;
- The CEO-to-average-worker-pay ratios came down by 12.3 per cent over the past three years. The average CEO now makes 106 times more than the average worker.
- On the other side of the ledger, the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of the S&P/TSX 60 grew by 13.8 per cent over the past three years and now total over 201 million tonnes;
- In regards to taxes, S&P/TSX 60 companies are now paying seven per cent less tax than three years ago. The average company five-year tax rate, calculated as the cash tax paid divided by EBITDA, is now just 13 per cent;
- On the board diversity front, females now make up 18 per cent of directors, moving up at the pace of about one per cent a year. At this rate, it will take until 2047 before we have gender parity in the boardroom.
| TSX 60 Members |
| Fiscal year |
Total GHGs |
% Tax Paid |
Sustainability |
CEO-Worker |
% |
| 2013 |
201,581,598 |
13% |
40/60 firms |
106 |
18% |
| 2012 |
191,803,038 |
16% |
31/60 firms |
129 |
17% |
| 2011 |
177,408,764 |
20% |
32/60 firms |
121 |
16% |
The 2015 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada, Distribution by Province
| Province |
2015 |
2014 |
| Ontario |
19 |
17 |
| Alberta |
13 |
14 |
| Quebec |
10 |
10 |
| BC |
6 |
7 |
| Manitoba |
0 |
1 |
| Saskatchewan |
2 |
1 |
The 2015 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada
| Rank 2015 |
Rank 2014 |
Company name |
GICS Industry |
| 1 |
4 |
Tim Hortons |
Hotels Restaurants & Leisure |
| 2 |
2 |
Vancouver City Savings Credit Union |
Banks |
| 3 |
1 |
Mountain Equipment Co-op |
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods |
| 4 |
6 |
Teck Resources |
Metals & Mining |
| 5 |
28 |
TELUS |
Diversified Telecommunication |
| 6 |
19 |
Enbridge |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels |
| 7 |
5 |
Mouvement des Caisses Desjardins |
Banks |
| 8 |
3 |
Bombardier |
Aerospace & Defense |
| 9 |
7 |
Co-operators Group |
Insurance |
| 10 |
10 |
Cenovus Energy |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels |
| 11 |
22 |
Sun Life Financial |
Insurance |
| 12 |
9 |
Toronto-Dominion Bank |
Banks |
| 13 |
34 |
Hydro-Québec |
Electric Utilities |
| 14 |
39 |
Stantec |
Professional Services |
| 15 |
29 |
Celestica |
Electronic Equip., Instruments |
| 16 |
13 |
HSBC Bank Canada |
Banks |
| 17 |
38 |
TMX Group |
Diversified Financial Services |
| 18 |
11 |
Suncor Energy |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels |
| 19 |
23 |
Bank of Montreal |
Banks |
| 20 |
Not shortlisted* |
Agrium |
Chemicals |
| 21 |
17 |
BCE |
Diversified Telecommunication |
| 22 |
24 |
Enmax |
Multi-Utilities |
| 23 |
14 |
Capital Power |
Independent Power and Renewables |
| 24 |
43 |
WestJet Airlines |
Airlines |
| 25 |
59 |
Pacific Rubiales Energy |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels |
| 26 |
27 |
Kinross Gold |
Metals & Mining |
| 27 |
54 |
Cameco |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels |
| 28 |
77 |
Manulife Financial |
Insurance |
| 29 |
36 |
Canadian Tire |
Multiline Retail |
| 30 |
21 |
Encana |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels |
| 31 |
45 |
Catalyst Paper |
Paper & Forest Products |
| 32 |
8 |
Husky Energy |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels |
| 33 |
20 |
Canadian National Railway |
Road & Rail |
| 34 |
26 |
Domtar |
Paper & Forest Products |
| 35 |
16 |
Intact Financial |
Insurance |
| 36 |
48 |
Canadian Pacific Railway |
Road & Rail |
| 37 |
30 |
Cascades |
Containers & Packaging |
| 38 |
31 |
Ontario Power Generation |
Electric Utilities |
| 39 |
32 |
Yamana Gold |
Metals & Mining |
| 40 |
18 |
Transat AT |
Hotels Restaurants & Leisure |
| 41 |
61 |
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce |
Banks |
| 42 |
41 |
Transcontinental |
Commercial Services & Supplies |
| 43 |
12 |
Royal Bank of Canada |
Banks |
| 44 |
37 |
Rogers Communications |
Wireless Telecommunication Services |
| 45 |
40 |
TransCanada |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels |
| 46 |
33 |
Bank of Nova Scotia |
Banks |
| 47 |
49 |
Federated Co-operatives |
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels |
| 48 |
74 |
National Bank of Canada |
Banks |
| 49 |
35 |
TransAlta |
Independent Power and Renewables |
| 50 |
106 |
Hudson's Bay |
Multiline Retail |
*Companies who score in the bottom quartile on the Sanctions score are not shortlisted.
SOURCE Corporate Knights Inc.
Image with caption: "The Summer 2015 issue of Corporate Knights features our annual Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada ranking, and special reports on solar energy and city resilience. Also find profiles of Canada's Greenest Chief Executive and Canada's Greenest Mayor. (CNW Group/Corporate Knights Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150603_C6616_PHOTO_EN_17446.jpg
Image with caption: "The Summer 2015 issue of Corporate Knights features our annual Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada ranking, and special reports on solar energy and city resilience. Also find profiles of Canada's Greenest Chief Executive and Canada's Greenest Mayor. (CNW Group/Corporate Knights Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150603_C6616_PHOTO_EN_17447.jpg
For further information: Toby Heaps, CEO, Corporate Knights, [email protected], 416-274-1432; Michael Yow, Director of Research, Corporate Knights Capital, [email protected], 416-203-4674