Each year, 3BL’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking evaluates the 1,000 largest publicly traded U.S. companies on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) transparency and performance. The methodology – conducted by ISS ESG and processed by ISS Corporate – draws exclusively from publicly available data, not surveys or questionnaires, and there is no cost or pay-to-participate fee. What’s measured is what’s visible to stakeholders, creating a clear, comparable view of disclosure practices across the corporate landscape.
View the 2025 methodology here. The 2025 dataset offers the most complete picture yet of how disclosure practices are evolving across seven key dimensions like climate change, environment, employees, stakeholders & society, human rights, governance, and overall ESG performance.
What’s New in 2025
- Updated Rankings
The 2025 rankings introduce the latest disclosure across all ESG pillars, giving companies and analysts the most up-to-date snapshot of performance within the Russell 1000. - Improved Historical Comparisons
Enhanced benchmarking features now make it possible to track multi-year trends across more industry peers than before, making it easier to identify progress, gaps, and sector-wide shifts in transparency. - The 100 Best Beat the S&P – Again
An expanded backtest shows that the 100 Best cohort outperformed the S&P 500 once again in 2025, reinforcing the connection between transparent ESG reporting and long-term financial resilience. View 3BL’s latest research to understand what it can mean for your organization.
Why It Matters
The 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking acts as a barometer for business transparency. Even as public debate around ESG continues, the data shows a quiet but steady trend: companies may be talking less about sustainability, but they’re disclosing and doing more. Transparent, verifiable remains one of the most reliable signals of corporate trust, investor confidence, and future performance.
