We ranked the leading U.S. companies based on factors including the environment, workforce, customers, communities, and governance. By Karen Hube
Corporate sustainability is under mounting pressure.
On top of the fierce political pushback against sustainability under President Donald Trump, troubles unleashed by tariffs and the Iran war -- namely, price spikes and supply chain disruptions -- threaten to pry corporate focus away from environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, goals and toward operational challenges.
Executives' attention is also diverted by the arms race to advance and incorporate artificial intelligence, says Bruno Sarda, Climate Change and Sustainability Services leader at EY Americas. "It's an all-hands-on-deck moment that can put other initiatives on the back burner."
Some companies have retreated sharply from sustainability practices: $34 billion in clean energy projects were canceled or downsized in 2025, according to the advocacy group E2, and 17% fewer companies in the Russell 3000 Index issued sustainability reports. That was the first dip since tracking began by the Conference Board and analytics firm ESGAUGE five years ago.
But while some see these trying times as reason to deprioritize sustainability, many large U.S. corporations are doubling down, arguing that ESG initiatives not only help drive long-term success but potentially provide a buffer from challenges playing out in real time.
Less reliance on fossil fuels, for example, means lower exposure to higher oil prices. Recycling and reusing translates into less reliance on new resources at a time of materials shortages and bottlenecks in supply chains.
"Sustainability folks are, by design, forecasters who focus on managing risks and resiliency strategies," says Mary Farris, head of ESG and human rights at Analog Devices, a semiconductor company that in 2024 increased renewable energy use at its eight manufacturing facilities to 59%, up from 39% in 2021, and diverted 95% of waste going to landfills through recycling and reuse.
Analog Devices places among the nation's top 10 most sustainable companies in a 2026 ranking created for Barron's by Calvert Research and Management. Calvert analyzed the 1,000 largest public U.S. companies based on key sustainable factors, including the environment, workforce, customers, communities, and governance.
Topping the list are two clean energy companies, Constellation Energy and Ormat Technologies, followed by Clorox, CBRE Group, Kimberly-Clark, Analog Devices, Jones Lang LaSalle, Lam Research, Owens Corning, and Principal Financial Group.
Shares of these companies posted an average 27.7% return in 2025, compared with the S&P 500's 17.9%, with seven of the companies beating the index. And this year through April 8, they returned 5.99% while the index was down nearly 1%.
Key drivers were No. 7--ranked LAM Research, which designs and sells highly technical parts to semiconductor companies. Its stock boasted a 139.5% return, followed by Ormat and Constellation, which were up 64.1% and 58.8%, respectively.
Three companies had double-digit negative returns for the year. Third-ranked Clorox and fifth-ranked Kimberly-Clark were down 35.6% and 19.9%, respectively. Owens Corning stock fell by 33%.
While poor stock performances were partly due to flagging consumer demand, the companies are unwavering in their ESG commitments, according to Calvert. For example, last year Kimberly-Clark launched recycling programs for hard-to-recycle materials like paper towels, soap dispensers, and diaper packaging. It aims to halve its plastics footprint by 2030, using 2019 as a baseline.
For the ranking, the companies' scores were weighted to reflect their greatest sustainability risks.
For example, Owens Corning, as a producer of building materials, is heavily weighted on environmental issues. It scores high based on its growing use of recyclable roofing and insulation materials. "It's really committed to circularity and resource efficiency," says Chris Madden, Calvert's head of applied solutions. "It also achieved a 43% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions in 2024. Its target is a 50% reduction by 2030."
While environment was the main factor for Ormat, community impact was weighted heavily due to its local presence as an operator of 35 geothermal power-plant complexes worldwide. The firm earned high scores for deep community engagement. For example, near its plant in Amatitlan, Guatemala, Ormat recently renovated a crumbling school and paid for a local doctor to serve the community, filling a healthcare void.
The top 10 companies have a common thread, Madden says. "The governance and human capital programs are very strong at these firms." Management understands that, to be effective, sustainability initiatives cannot be add-ons to their core businesses but rather must be deeply integrated into all areas of the company, from supply chains to workplace issues, he says.
A major challenge to companies' sustainability efforts is procuring clean energy. "After a 20-year recession in demand for electricity, demand is exceeding supply with the buildout of data centers and electrification in general," says Jonathan Pragel, lead utilities and clean energy analyst at Calvert.
Sustainable leaders have the advantage of being early adopters of renewable energy, with locked-in supply through long-term agreements. For latecomers to sustainability, there are major challenges in accessing renewable energy due to a bottleneck in old electrical grids, Pragel says.
Constellation Energy, as the largest nuclear and clean energy operator in the U.S., is positioned to benefit from the high demand, and is considered a sustainability enabler for other companies, he says.
Constellation is advancing a method for its customers -- and itself -- to more accurately track emissions-free energy use. Tracking has been challenging, because electrical grids combine power from both emissions-free sources -- solar, wind, nuclear, and geothermal -- and fossil fuels. Also, availability of clean power on a grid varies. Weather conditions dictate the availability of wind power, for instance.
Because of these challenges, it's common practice for companies to account for emissions-free energy use by totaling annual energy use and offsetting it with renewable energy certificates, which they buy from an emissions-free energy provider like a solar farm.
Constellation's technology, used by Microsoft and a handful of firms so far -- and by five Constellation power plants -- can track how much emissions-free energy a company is drawing from its local electrical grid on an hourly basis, says Katie Ott, Constellation's vice president of sustainability and climate strategy. "This more accurate greenhouse-gas reporting enables a transition to a decarbonized electric system."
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 17, 2026 21:31 ET (01:31 GMT)
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