Gladu is a member of Domtar’s newly formed External Sustainability Advisory Committee, and as principal owner of Mokwateh consultancy, he provided a third-party Indigenous review of the company’s new Global Indigenous Relations Policy. With this in mind, we asked him to share his thoughts on what’s next for Indigenous partnerships in Canada.

Q: How did you get your start in forestry? What brought you to the industry?

Forestry is in my blood. My dad was a logger, his dad was a logger, and I spent a lot of time in the bush growing up. I actually grew up off reserve, which was a result of historical circumstances. In 1958, our community was burned to the ground by the provincial government to make way for a provincial park. As a result, many families – including mine – had to relocate.

Growing up off reserve shaped my perspective; I always knew I was First Nation, but I didn’t have the same daily connection to community life that others did. Instead, I found my connection to my heritage through time spent on the land and in the forest, often hunting and fishing with other community members.

I originally wanted to be a conservation officer, so I went to forest tech school in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. My first job was helping with First Nation community forests across Ontario. The enthusiasm and togetherness I felt at those on-reserve community forest meetings helped me realize that my passion was for working with our people and supporting Indigenous communities, rather than chasing corporate titles.

Q: Many Domtar employees and customers aren’t aware of the company’s Indigenous relations work. Can you give an example of Domtar raising the bar for Indigenous relations?

One of the best examples comes from the Lake Nipigon forest and the relationships that grew out of that work. Before 2008, First Nations had almost no management control over forests in our own backyards. We were constantly fighting for access to wood and opportunities to harvest, which created tension with industry. Then the sector hit a downturn in 2008, and everything changed. Domtar, government representatives and our First Nations sat down together, and we negotiated 100% management control of the Lake Nipigon forest. That was a turning point. It showed what true Indigenous partnerships could look like.

Even after gaining control, we didn’t have a sawmills or processing facility until 2012, so we maintained strong relationships with companies like Domtar to deliver wood. It became a symbiotic relationship: Domtar needed fibre for its mills, and we needed markets for our wood. Over time, that collaboration evolved into something much deeper: shared problem-solving and mutual respect. Today, we are supplied with oversized trees and Domtar purchases our dimensional wood for final processing and markets. With the capacity of about a truck a day, we employ four sawmill workers and a manager.

There’s also a personal story that illustrates this evolution. My dad worked as a logger and truck driver years ago, and his boss in the bush was Tom Ratz. Back then, my dad was a bullheaded First Nation guy that was a high production operator, and he and Tom sometimes butted heads. Fast forward to today. My dad is the Chief of Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (Sand Point First Nation), and Tom, until he recently retired, was chief forester for Ontario within Domtar. They are still working together. That change underscores why respectful, long-term relationships matter. In forestry communities, roles change, but the connections remain. Domtar’s willingness to adapt, listen and work alongside Indigenous leadership is what raising the bar looks like. Tom, my dad and I have plans to go fishing together this summer. We’ve also had Lana Wilhelm, director of Indigenous relations, spend time in our community on the land. I can’t stress enough the importance of industry partners spending time in community. It’s the relationships that count.

Q: What do you see as the next evolution for Indigenous partnerships in the forest sector?

The sector needs to think differently and invest in Indigenous business infrastructure, especially in northern communities. It’s not enough to offer jobs; companies should support Indigenous-owned businesses, like trucking or harvesting companies, that build local capacity.

In northern communities, non-Indigenous forestry operators are retiring, and often, the next generation doesn’t want to inherit the business and sometimes leaves the community altogether. Indigenous people – who’ve lived there since time immemorial – are the ones who remain. As a generation retires and banks become more hesitant to finance forestry operations, Indigenous communities are stepping up to fill those gaps.

By investing in Indigenous business infrastructure and supporting Indigenous-owned companies, the forest industry can build local capacity, strengthen the supply chain and ensure a stable workforce. The more capacity Indigenous communities have, the more certainty we generate for the sector. Supporting Indigenous involvement isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s essential for the future of Canada’s forest industry.

Q: With this in mind, how can a company position themselves well through Indigenous partnerships to face the challenges in our sector?

Whether it’s a small local partnership that will create a handful of jobs or millions of dollars in infrastructure spending, you need to start at the same place.

One of the most important lessons I learned early in my forestry career was about grading trees. When I was at Sault College, we were taught to assess trees for their value – whether they were prime lumber, mixed or just pulp and firewood. During one exercise, our instructor asked us to grade a yellow birch. Most of us called out our guesses from a distance, but he told us we were all wrong. None of us had taken the time to walk around the tree and see its full condition. There could have been a split or rot on the far side that we missed.

That experience stuck with me. It’s a perfect analogy for building Indigenous partnerships: you have to take the time to “walk around the tree” – to truly get to know the community and understand their needs, aspirations and perspectives. Companies shouldn’t assume they know what’s best for Indigenous communities. Instead, they need to spend time in the community, listen and learn. Strong relationships are built on mutual understanding, and that leads to better outcomes for everyone.

Q: You were recently appointed by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to the First Nations Major Projects Coalition Advisory Centre, and you’re the only person with a forestry background. How does that background give you insight into the challenges and opportunities at a national level?

Forestry has the longest-standing relationship with Indigenous communities in Canada. My experience in the sector has grounded my understanding of how business and community intersect. While forestry projects won’t necessarily fit the scale of national initiatives, the lessons learned – about Indigenous partnerships, respect and capacity-building – apply across the economy. I’m grateful for what forestry has taught me, and I carry those insights into all my work. 

Learn more about JP Gladu and his work: JP Gladu: Indigenous economic development leader | Mokwateh

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Scale is a challenge when it comes to disclosure. There are around 6,000 cooperatives in Canada, about half of which are non-profits, and many are quite small. They don’t necessarily have the resources to bring a standardized process around sustainability into their operations, Duguid says.

Recognizing the lack of data and the intrinsic barriers, Duguid and fellow researcher Daphne Rixon asked themselves, “Could we help co-ops to do this better?” Together, they set out to build a dashboard to capture the performance of Canadian cooperatives with respect to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the cooperative principles.

The aim is to create an easy-to-use sustainability tool that enables co-ops to better understand their own sustainability performance and impact and share the results publicly, without adding a lot of work. The platform, called ACT (Accounting for Co-operative Transformation), is backed by the Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co‑operatives at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax and will launch next year.

Work by the Corporate Knights research group confirmed the limited visibility on sustainable impact at Canadian cooperatives. Out of more than 140 co-ops or credit unions in Canada with annual revenues exceeding $5 million in 2023 or 2024, researchers found that only 11 reported their sustainable investments and revenue. Ranked by sustainable impact, five of the top 10 were credit unions, which have more advanced sustainability reporting because they operate in the financial sector.

Sustainable impact at smaller co-ops can’t be measured by the same standard as it is at large credit unions, Duguid suggests. “It wouldn’t be fair to the co-op sector to think that a small bike co-op, for example, should be investing sustainably,” she says. “Their raison d’être is to provide sustainable transportation, and that should speak more than their investments.”

Sustainability Solutions Group (SSG) is a prime example of the tension between the commitment to sustainability and the absence of data-driven recognition for this work. Founded in 2001 in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia, the worker cooperative generates greenhouse gas inventories and climate action plans for cities, provinces and states across Canada, the United States and Chile. But with only 50 employees/members, most of whom work from home, the company doesn’t have the capacity to publish a sustainability report.

Despite the lack of clarity surrounding sustainable impact, no one doubts the deep links between the cooperative sector and sustainability. “Most co-ops were invested in sustainability long before it became fashionable,” says Daniel Brunette, senior director of cooperation and engagement at Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada. Recognizing the critical role that co-ops play toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN declared 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives.

Cooperatives are a huge part of the economy. So where’s the training?

Yuill Herbert, founder of SSG, says that the co-op’s shared-ownership model is intrinsically democratic and therefore more likely to pursue sustainable goals. “The co-op is the enterprise manifestation of sustainability,” he says.

Despite the existing core alignment with sustainability, the co-op sector still needs to get on board with reporting, Duguid says. “Co-ops should have been first off the mark with all the reporting about corporate social responsibility and ESG,” Duguid says. “Co-ops do really well in terms of social, economic and community [impact], but environmental can be hard for them to tackle.”

“They were doing that originally, and not just in a greenwashing way, but in a real way,” she says. “But they haven’t done a good job of talking about it.”

Naomi Buck is a writer based in Toronto. Mark Mann is the managing editor at Corporate Knights.

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“I am delighted – but actually not at all surprised – to see your results,” U.K.-based author and entrepreneur John Elkington says. “The U.K. has been a globally significant incubator of thinking on sustainable development, CSR [corporate social responsibility], ESG and climate solutions for decades, with things coming to a head around the time of COP26 [the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, in Glasgow].”

Exeter in particular has been instrumental in international policy discussions. For the past several years, a team led by professor Pierre Friedlingstein has spearheaded the global carbon budget, one of the COP’s central metrics. Other Exeter initiatives, such as the Global Tipping Points Report led by professor Tim Lenton, also figured centrally in this year’s summit discussions. In fact, several of the United Kingdom’s most influential climate scientists are on faculty at Exeter, and they are part of a team of 1,500 research and education specialists.

These top global MBAs for sustainability are maximizing impact

Likewise, sustainability is deeply embedded in Exeter’s curricula, but that doesn’t make it an exception among the ranking schools. Beth Patmore, MBA course leader at Nottingham Business School (ranked 16th), points out that this is part of a broader “systemic shift” in the United Kingdom, where sustainability has also been embedded in national policy frameworks, corporate governance codes and educational standards. “[It] is increasingly seen not as a niche concern but as a foundational lens through which strategy, finance, operations and leadership are taught,” she says.

Take, for example, the business school ranking by the Financial Times in London, a popular resource for MBA applicants. It now gives roughly 20% collective weighting to ESG-related curriculum content, the school’s carbon footprint, and faculty and student diversity among the key criteria in its methodology.

Sustaining a virtuous circle

“To me, this is also a question of supply and demand,” says Frederik Dahlmann, an associate professor of strategy and sustainability in Warwick’s MBA programs. “We know that sustainability matters to our students, for their roles, organizations and future career development, because they tell us it is an important factor when deciding where to study for their MBAs.”

Almost all the programs we contacted for this piece said the same. There is what Dahlmann calls a virtuous circle that is created within this system, where faculty are making meaningful policy and research contributions, attracting students who will go on to do the same, which in turn incentivizes universities to continue to make such contributions.

But what explains this dynamic in the United Kingdom in particular? ESG has waned in popularity in the United States and Canada, with major companies and institutions reneging on sustainability commitments following the election of Donald Trump amid fears of an unfriendly business environment. There were similar fears with businesses pulling back from commitments, fearing penalties from anti-greenwashing legislation (which has since been scaled back).

According to Donald Lancaster, program director of Exeter’s MBA, the likelihood of a similar state of affairs coming to pass in the United Kingdom is low. This is not only because the U.K. government’s pioneering sustainability initiatives have broad cross-party support, but also because strong markets and talent pools have developed around them. Even prior to the election of Trump, Lancaster points out, shareholder value has long been the overriding consideration in the U.S. context. Despite many exemplary sustainability-oriented MBA programs in the United Kingdom, they operate within a different cultural milieu than in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Hugh Wilson, a professor of marketing in Warwick’s MBA programs, suggests that the reason for this cultural discrepancy may be rooted in history. “As the epicentre of two world wars in the 20th century, Europe swung towards greater social and economic equality after each,” he says. European countries have sharp memories of the problems that can accrue in a society where these social and economic factors fall out of balance. Though that postwar ethos has been diluted over time, he proposes that it continues to influence the United Kingdom’s business and educational climate.

“We depend on a socially and environmentally sustainable world; environmental and social crises tend to hit us early and hard,” Wilson says. “[The U.K.] business community is acutely aware of the risks and opportunities that these create.”

Tristan Bronca is an award-winning magazine writer and editor based in Toronto.

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Griffith University MBA Director Professor Naomi Birdthistle is passionate about making change where it matters: in the hearts of a new wave of business leaders, and she explains what ‘doing things differently’ looks like for the MBA program.

As the business world has played a part in creating environmental, social and ethical challenges which can seem insurmountable, how does Griffith’s MBA program contribute to a solution?

The Griffith MBA creates a model of what a future leader needs to be, to deal with wicked problems. Sustainability should become second nature for all business leaders, and they should have SDGs embedded into their decision-making process.

We equip students with a sustainability mindset. We bring out the passion and provide an authentic learning experience.

Ethical leadership is more important than ever in today’s business world. We emphasize the importance of integrity, transparency, and ethical decision-making. From a human and environmental perspective, the business world is increasingly uncertain and volatile. Professionals need to be adaptable and resilient, and we equip students with skills to navigate change and uncertainty. We model adaptability by continuously updating our curriculum to reflect the latest trends and challenges, and the program covers topics such as change management, crisis leadership, and strategic agility.

What sets Griffith’s program apart from other MBAs?

As well as imparting practical business know-how, we believe education should instil values which guide ethical decision-making and responsible leadership. Our curriculum is designed to foster critical thinking, empathy, and a deep understanding of the broader impact of business decisions on society and the environment. Griffith MBA alumni are a new class of professionals, the kind necessary to implement the change needed for a better world.

Human qualities such as emotional intelligence are integral to our curriculum. We understand that effective leadership and management require not only technical skills, but also the ability to navigate interpersonal relationships and understand the emotional dynamics within teams and organizations.

By embedding emotional intelligence throughout our curriculum, we ensure our graduates are capable of leading with empathy, resilience, and a deep understanding of human behaviour. These qualities are essential for creating inclusive, innovative, and high-performing organisations.

Two courses of note include Leading for Sustainable People Outcomes and Developing Values-based Leadership. Students learn how to manage their own emotions and understand the emotions of others, which is crucial for leading diverse teams and fostering a positive work environment.

How do you ensure MBA graduates stay relevant through their career?

We instil a mindset of lifelong learning in our students, because learning doesn’t stop at graduation. We encourage students and alumni to continuously seek new knowledge and skills. We model this through our ‘MBA for Life’ program by offering alumni access to ongoing professional development opportunities and resources.

How important is it to incorporate technology concepts such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation into the program?

We recognise rapid advancement of technology has transformed how businesses operate and have integrated digital transformation into our curriculum. Our program covers topics such as digital marketing, data analytics, AI, and cybersecurity. Students learn how to leverage technology to drive innovation and efficiency in their organizations. Our extracurricular offerings include mini masterclasses, and a recent session examined how leaders can build AI powered organisations with human-centric values. There are ethical dimensions related to the use of technology, and we are always delivering opportunities for students to consider the challenges related to the responsible adoption of technology.

Griffith has performed exceptionally in sustainable business rankings, how has the program managed to take sustainable business education to the next level?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aren’t a secondary thought; they are the solid bedrock with which the MBA program is firmly rooted. Sustainability is a central theme in the learning journey of every Griffith MBA student and this commitment is reflected through assessments, case studies and guest speakers across multiple disciplines. We are so confident in our integration of SDGs into our core courses, that we proudly name our courses to reflect ambitious sustainable outcomes, such as: Economics for a Sustainable Future; Sustainability and Systems Thinking; and Leading for Sustainable People Outcomes.

Case studies aligned with the SDGs provide real world business experience, and the hands-on approach helps students to understand the practical implications of sustainable business practices. This gives them the opportunity to develop innovative solutions to wicked problems and challenges.

Why is diversity and inclusion important to Griffith and how do you ensure this value is embedded into the program?

A diverse and inclusive environment enriches the learning experience of students and prepares them to lead in a globalized world. Our graduates are empathetic and culturally aware leaders who are equipped to foster inclusive environments and drive positive change in their organizations and communities.

As an Australian-based university, we actively recruit students from various cultural, professional, and academic backgrounds which fosters a rich exchange of ideas and perspectives. Our curriculum is designed to address issues of diversity and inclusion across all courses and includes topics such as cross-cultural management, inclusive leadership, and global business ethics.

Our students engage in international exchanges, study tours, and collaborations with global institutions and these experiences help students understand and appreciate cultural differences and develop a global mindset. We also ensure our faculty and guest speakers represent a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. This diversity in teaching staff provides students with varied perspectives and role models, enriching their educational journey.

Access is a crucial part of ensuring student diversity, and we offer a range of delivery methods which aim to suit a great number of students. We strive to create a supportive and welcoming environment and provide support services such as mentorship programs, counselling and student organisations which promote diversity and inclusion.

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We strive to put sustainability at the heart of everything we do. It starts with our Sustainability Strategy, which focuses our efforts in three areas: Environmental Stewardship, Our People and Communities and Responsible Business.

The framework, which launched in May 2025, is the result of nearly two years of work, led by our Sustainability Team with the collective feedback of operational and subject matter experts across our business units. The integrated strategy drives all of our operations and commitments as we continue our work as a leading manufacturer of diversified forest products under the ownership of investor Jackson Wijaya.

“I’m tremendously proud of the strategy we’ve created,” says Domtar Chief Sustainability Officer Sabrina de Branco. “Considering the strong history of all our legacy companies, I can say with confidence that Domtar is moving onward and upward while being firmly rooted in sustainability.”

In this article, we’re exploring the first pillar in our strategy: Environmental Stewardship. Upcoming articles will explore the other two pillars and their key objectives.

What Is Environmental Stewardship?

Environmental Stewardship encompasses our efforts to steward the planet’s resources responsibly by reducing the environmental footprint of our everyday operations and setting actionable objectives that positively impact nature and the environment.

“In today’s world, our stakeholders and partners across all sectors are rightfully focused on environmental impact,” says Luc Thériault, president of Domtar’s Wood Products business unit. “For a company like ours that depends on renewable natural resources like wood fiber, this scrutiny isn’t just expected—it’s essential. Our environmental performance must be exemplary, which is why this pillar is fundamental to our strategy.”

This pillar includes four key objectives.

Sustainable Forest Management and Fiber Sourcing

Sustainable forest management and fiber sourcing are critical to our supply chain and the health of forests. We will advance our long-standing commitment to sustainable forest management across Domtar’s value chain for all wood and fiber. By 2030, we are committed to:

• Sourcing 100 percent of our wood and fiber from responsibly managed forests;
• Increasing landowner engagement from seed to harvest, compared to 2025, on practices that deliver social, environmental and economic value; and
• Ensuring Domtar is recognized as a collaborative partner in advancing the status of critical habitat for threatened species.

Positive Biodiversity Impacts

The health of our forests depends on having a healthy level of biodiversity, with an abundance and variety of life existing within the forest ecosystem. Maintaining or improving biodiversity requires an ongoing commitment to sustainable forestry practices and proactive measures to rehabilitate land when the opportunity arises. We will positively impact biodiversity through our forests, fiber supply chain and operational footprint.

By 2030, we will ensure that 100 percent of our operations with risks in high-value areas have action plans in place within one year of their completed assessments.

Decarbonization

Decarbonization—the reduction or removal of carbon dioxide emissions—is a critical pillar of global climate action and a key element of Domtar’s sustainability strategy. At Domtar, we are building on existing good practices and operational strengths to drive meaningful emission reductions across our value chain. This includes identifying and advancing strategic projects at our mills that lower our carbon footprint while safeguarding the long-term viability and competitiveness of our assets.

We’ve already reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by about 1/3 since 2015. We will continue to decarbonize our operations, products and value chain by leveraging renewable, sustainable, fossil-free resources and efficient manufacturing processes. We will achieve our greenhouse gas emission reduction target—to be established by 2026—for target year 2035 or sooner.

Water Resilience

Water is essential to the production of pulp, paper and wood products, and many of our facilities are located near rivers, lakes and watersheds to ensure access to this vital resource. Recognizing that water is a shared and precious natural resource, our goal is to reduce water-related risks and minimize our impact on local ecosystems by optimizing water use, improving treatment processes and collaborating with stakeholders to support watershed health.

Our 2030 targets for this objective include:

• Reducing water use intensity by 20 percent over 2020 baseline in the Paper and Packaging business unit.
• Ensuring 100 percent of our pulp, paper and tissue mills have risk mitigation plans in place within one year of completing assessments.

The Future of Our Environmental Stewardship

As we implement our sustainability strategy and work toward achieving our Environmental Stewardship objectives, we’re simply continuing the sustainability journey we started many years ago.

“We’re already engaged in several high-impact projects that we’re pursuing jointly with environmental non-governmental organizations and others. Certainly, our legacy companies had a strong track record of this type, and we’ve been moving further down this path as the new Domtar,” says Paige Goff, Domtar’s vice president of Sustainability, Strategic Partnerships and Engagement. “We’re looking to grow the number of partnerships and projects that we will engage in over time. And there’s perhaps no better overarching measure of the success of our strategy as a whole than the degree of trust we earn.”

Visit Domtar.com for a full overview of Domtar’s sustainability strategy and recent sustainability report, including objectives and performance targets that define the roadmap for our company’s efforts in the years ahead.

Domtar is of the “Private 25 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World” named by Corporate Knights in 2025.

 

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The “impact” metric was introduced to the Corporate Knights MBA ranking several years ago as a bonus, but this year is the first that it has become part of the official ranking. Corporate Knights evaluated 179 programs and ranked the top 40 for their focus on sustainability. Ninety percent of the score these rankings are based on is awarded for the content of the curriculum, and now 10% has been awarded for impact – what schools’ alumni are doing post-graduation.

The school with the highest score on this measure this year was Bard College in New York, with an impact rating of 56%. Out of 62 graduates, Corporate Knights identified 35 who are either in sustainability roles or working at companies recognized for their sustainability efforts. By comparison, the average alumni rating was 16% among other schools that made the ranking. Only the University of Vermont’s MBA program had a comparable impact rating of 52%. 

For the last three years, Bard has consistently ranked in the top five MBA programs for sustainability. Bard stands out as one of the few business schools specifically designating its MBA as an MBA in Sustainability, another being the University of Vermont. “They are not shy about putting the program’s sustainability focus front and centre,” says Corporate Knights research analyst Muhammad Talha. 

We need our students out changing the world at scale in a hurry.

– Eban Goodstein, founder of the MBA in sustainability, Bard College

Bard’s graduates have compelling stories: a schoolteacher who went on to become a vice president of ESG (environmental, social and governance) for the Americas at Deutsche Bank within just one year of graduating; the emergency medical technician who became a managing consultant at the global firm Guidehouse. Perhaps the most famous example is Chelsea Mozen, who developed the idea for Etsy to offset its carbon emissions from shipping during her capstone project at Bard. Just four years after graduating, she was the chief sustainability officer for Etsy, making it one of the first major global companies to commit to a climate pledge.

“Our students’ interests range from food to fashion to energy. There’s a lot of variability,” says Eban Goodstein, an economist and the founder of Bard’s program. He explains that the program is highly experiential. “I think of it as 20 four-day retreats spread out over two years,” he says. “It’s almost more like a fine arts degree where you are learning directly from artists.”

In Bard’s MBA, students begin working on real-world projects in their first year, often with major industry players. The goal, according to Goodstein, is not just to respond to, but entirely shift how we address – and prevent – mounting environmental and social challenges. “We need our students out changing the world at scale in a hurry,” he adds.

All of the MBA programs on the list open up a multitude of options to get that done. For many of these students, it means taking on a key corporate sustainability role at a global leading company, or launching their own enterprise with values of social responsibility and environmental sustainability embedded in the organization’s DNA. But in a different economy, the approach post-graduation might look very different.

2025 Better World MBA top 40

Take, for example, the top-ranked “large” school, defined as a program with more than 80 graduates annually. This year, the spot belongs to Centrum’s PUCP in Peru. Centrum was one of just two South American schools on the top 40 list (the other, Colombia’s Universidad Externado, jumped from 112 in last year’s ranking to 40 in this year’s).

Centrum operates in a different context than the majority of schools in the ranking, which are overwhelmingly from the Americas or Europe. The Peruvian economy is largely “informal,” associate dean Sandro Sánchez explains. While many Centrum graduates are vying for corporate jobs (about 20 graduates of the last two years landed at companies like Vestas and Schneider Electric), the majority of these students go on to work in – or start – smaller companies, including those outside the urban centres in sectors like mining and agriculture, which remain the engines of the Peruvian economy. 

This is not the same business environment where you tend to see corporate sustainability officers or climate pledges. But this is precisely what makes this training so important. It’s here that graduates’ vision for social and environmentally positive change – a vision they develop in their MBA program – will have the greatest impact.

Tristan Bronca is an award-winning magazine writer and editor based in Toronto.

2025 Better World MBA top 10 large schools

METHODOLOGY

The 2025 Corporate Knights Better World MBA Top 40 ranking examines the performances of 179 business schools, drawn from the most recent FT100 MBA Ranking, the Princeton Review Best Green MBA, the Top 40 from the 2024 Better World MBA ranking, and all current PRME Champions; and business schools accredited by the Association of MBAs, the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) or the EFMD (European Foundation for Management Development) QualityImprovement System (EQUIS) and also signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education that opt in for evaluation. Based on publicly disclosed information on their websites, schools are evaluated on the sustainability content of their core courses and can review and request revisions to the analysis. Additionally, schools may voluntarily provide the number of recent graduates employed with impact organizations, which is worth 10% of the overall score.

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Canadian public-sector companies represent an outsized share of the effort, representing more than half, or 13, of the top 25, in addition to companies from across Europe and Australia.

From the ranking leader Hydro-Québec’s $155-billion green-energy expansion plan, to 12th-place Bpifrance bank’s financing solar and wind power loans, the inaugural list shows how investments in renewable energy pay off. There’s a continued push toward innovation, such as that displayed by the Royal Canadian Mint (#4) and the purchase of equipment that boosts the amount of material it recovers from its silver bullion blanking process. While the United Kingdom’s Network Rail Ltd. (#7) has drawn revenue by electrifying routes, Farm Credit Canada has seen returns on “women entrepreneur loans” totalling more than $2.9 billion.

1. Hydro-Québec

Hydro-Québec has been a leader in clean hydroelectric energy for the last 75 years, the exports of which have enriched the province to the tune of $4 billion in 2024 alone. Now, the company is boosting its investments in windenergy. Already, 44 wind farms generate more than 4,000 megawatts (MW), and that figure will climb to 10,000 MW as part of Hydro-Québec’s Action Plan 2035. This future power output – enough for about two million households – is a critical element of its strategy to decarbonize sectors like transportation and building heating. This all part of the utilities program to invest between $155 and $185 billion in green energy by 2035.

2. Toronto Hydro

Toronto Hydro is the final leg of electricity delivery to nearly 1.7 million households in Canada’s largest city. By 2040, the company has pledged to reach net-zero emissions in its operations, which will expand in an effort to help the city reach its own net-zero goals. Toronto Hydro estimates it will invest $10 billion in climate infrastructure across the city – EV charging, equipment renewal, etc. – before 2050, and 75% of the city’s net-zero strategy relies on these investments. Toronto Hydro reported that in 2022, there was an 8% reduction in its emissions over the previous year, representing a 40% reduction over 2018.

3. Statnett

“We are facing an increasingly challenging threat landscape,” says Statnett CFO and executive vice president Cathrine Lund Larsen, referring to geopolitical tensions in Europe and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. Despite these challenges, the owner-operator of Norway’s transmission grid recorded 1.7 billion kroner in profit for 2024. The company plans to more than double its investment in the country’s power systems over the next 10 years. It will do so under new sustainability reporting requirements, with carbon dioxide pricing on construction contracts, and with a focus on minimizing the impact on Norway’s natural areas.

4. Royal Canadian Mint

In 2023, Canada’s coin producer released its inaugural Impact Report and committed to making its manufacturing carbon-neutral by 2030. To meet this goal, the Royal Canadian Mint has taken major steps, including a massive investment in new geothermal power infrastructure at the Winnipeg Mint. In 2023, the Mint offset 491 tonnes of emissions, and it is now pioneering more sustainable methods of gold refining and mineral sourcing. Today, thanks to the Mint’s sustainability and recycling efforts, 88% of coins in circulation are recirculated, dramatically curbing the demand for new coin production.

5. Alectra

Alectra is a utilities company that services more than one million homes and businesses around the Greater Toronto Area. Since the inception of its Green Energy and Technology Centre – described by Brian Bentz, the company’s president and CEO, as “the think tank, collaboration hub, and ground zero for innovation” – Alectra has launched new initiatives to modernize the grid, use AI for infrastructure management and explore multiple pilot projects for incorporating new technology. Since 2016, the company has achieved about a 17% reduction in its own emissions and has pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

6. Société de Transport de Montréal

The Société de Transport de Montréal has been a force for economic growth and sustainable development in Quebec. The service transports 1.1 million people on average on a business day, and its ridership has been growing, with 2024 seeing a 9.2% increase over 2023. According to its Sustainable Development Plan 2030 and a 2016 study, roughly 20 tonnes of emissions can be saved for every one that STM emits. STM is currently electrifying its fleet and implementing new improvements to its bus and rail infrastructure; currently, 48.6% of its bus fleet is either hybrid or electric. Two of STM’s projects have been LEED Gold-certified, and two major infrastructure projects have received the Envision award.

7. Network Rail

Network Rail owns, operates and develops more than 20,000 miles of track; 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts; and thousands of transit stations across the United Kingdom. The company is aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2050 and has taken major steps toward achieving that goal, including electrifying the busiest parts of its system, purchasing more renewable energy and trialling new hydrogen and battery trains. These sustainability plans also require building more resilient infrastructure to account for increasingly severe weather events, and the creation of biodiverse havens across 52,000 hectares of land occupied by its rail networks.

8. Export Development Canada

Export Development Canada is a crown corporation that strategically invests to help Canadian companies expand internationally. Since pledging to reach net-zero emissions in 2050, EDC set a number of interim targets that it has achieved ahead of schedule. In 2023, EDC provided a record $12.2 billion in support for cleantech businesses, beating its target of $10 billion by 2025. The corporation also reduced its exposure to its most carbon-intensive sectors – including upstream oil and gas – by 69% over 2018, exceeding the original 45% target. This year, EDC introduced a new framework to classify, track and report on the sustainability of all its investments.

9. Fingrid

Finland has a famously clean energy system. Last year, 95% of the country’s power production was emission-free thanks to the preponderance of nuclear and wind power. Now that the country’s energy needs are rising quickly, Fingrid, the public company that administers the country’s grid, has risen to meet the challenge. The amount of energy produced by wind energy is expected to rise to 9,500 MW, up from just 1,800 MW five years ago, and the company is now offering green bonds to help finance €4 billion in investments to help the country meet its net-zero targets by 2035.

10. Statkraft

Statkraft is Norway’s energy producer and the largest generator of renewable energy in Europe, including hydropower, wind power – with a portfolio that has expanded to include projects in South America and India – and solar. In total, about 97% of the energy Statkraft generates comes from renewables, and 100% of its profits are reinvested in renewables, both in own operations and across a wide range of initiatives in biofuels and green hydrogen.

11. Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board

Manitoba Hydro has been quantifying and reporting its own greenhouse gas emissions for the last 30 years. The crown corporation is one of the largest integrated electricity and natural gas utility companies in Canada, serving more than 600,000 electricity customers and nearly 300,000 for natural gas. Nearly all of Manitoba’s electricity – an estimated 99.6% – comes from renewables. The company had set a voluntary threshold for emissions on its operations of 520 kilotonnes (kt) based on stepwise reductions from 1990 levels. In 2023, it came in at just 128 kt: 75% lower than its target.

12. Bpifrance

Bpifrance is a French public-sector bank that bills itself as a “one stop shop for entrepreneurs.” The bank has more than €100 billion in assets and strategically invests in initiatives to promote a “more inclusive and sustainable French economy.” That now includes €7.6 billion in financing for projects powering the country’s ecological and energy transition, and a commitment to exclude coal, gas and oil from its investments. Bpifrance has also committed to reducing its own emissions by 55% before 2030 and has received exemplary assessments from five separate ESG ratings agencies.

13. EPCOR Utilities

“The ironic thing about sustainability is that it’s hard to sustain” – it’s an odd sentiment to hear in a sustainability report, but it’s one that underscores EPCOR’s commitment to getting its strategy right. Formerly the Edmonton Power Corporation, EPCOR manages the city’s water, wastewater, natural gas and electricity distribution. It also operates in other Canadian provinces and in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The utility spent years fine-tuning its sustainability strategy to ensure that it made sense long-term. That evolution has resulted in reductions in EPCOR’s gas emissions, a 95% wastewater reuse rate in parched regions of the United States, and $4.9 billion in economic value delivered across multiple jurisdictions.

14. Vygruppen

The Vy Group is the largest land-based transport group in the Nordic countries. Owned by the Norwegian government, it operates rail passenger services, bus fleets, freight services, as well as in various tourism capacities. Last year, the company transported 213 million passengers, an emissions savings of about 400,000 passenger vehicles. Vy has developed a set of guidelines aimed at saving the country one million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by the end of this year. In pursuit of this goal, it has already electrified nearly half of its fleet of buses and continues to expand less carbon-intensive forms of transport.

15. British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

BC Hydro services 95% of British Columbia’s population – more than five million people. The company boasts some of the cleanest power generation anywhere in North America, with 91% of its power coming from hydroelectric sources. Its subsidiary, Powerex, is a net exporter of clean energy to Alberta, Washington State, Oregon and California. Though BC Hydro contributes less than 1% of the province’s total emissions, by 2023 the company had already achieved a 61% reduction in emissions over its baseline. New studies and programs are underway to help the company better deal with climate-related risks, including fires, drought and storms.

16. NBN

NBN is Australia’s broadband provider, a company tasked with building and operating the network that connects the island continent. About seven in 10 homes and businesses in rural and regional Australia are currently served by fixed-line technology, but by the end of this year, NBN’s network upgrades will ensure that 1.6 million more Australians have access to fibre connections. In a country that is uniquely vulnerable to climate risks, NBN’s goal is to “operate a climate-resilient, resource-efficient network.” In 2024, the company lowered its emissions 19% compared to its 2021 baseline and pledged to implement 100% renewable-energy use for its own operations by the end of this year.

17. Alliander

Alliander is the developer and operator of the Netherlands’ energy networks. Last year, the Dutch company’s operations were carbon-neutral, a feat it achieved by greening its fleet of vehicles, reducing energy use in its buildings and IT systems, and limiting grid losses. But there is more work to be done. Electricity accounts for about 18% of the country’s total energy use, but that figure is expected to rise to 50% by 2050. Last year alone, the company invested €1.8 billion in its infrastructure, and there is now additional focus on eliminating supply-chain-related emissions.

18. European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank is the European Union’s investment bank and one of the largest financial institutions in the world. It is also one of the biggest green financiers globally. It was the world’s first financial institution to issue green bonds, back in 2007, and in 2019, it announced that it would stop funding fossil fuel projects – a move that accompanied a promise to invest €1 trillion in climate and environmental projects by 2030. Most recently, those projects include a major hydroelectric project in Spain and renewable-energy initiatives in Chile, among many others. In 2024, the bank invested an estimated €44.8 billion in climate action and environmental sustainability, which was about 60% of its total financing.

19. Farm Credit Canada

With the global population expected to increase to 9.7 billion by 2050, Canada remains one of very few nations capable of meeting the projected demand for agricultural production. Facing unprecedented natural threats, Farm Credit Canada has mobilized new resources to support a wide range of producers – from Quebec’s maple syrup sector, whose yields suffered from unseasonable warmth in 2023, to B.C. winemakers whose vines were destroyed by the 2022 winter, to Alberta farmers affected by record-breaking wildfires. Last year, FCC invested $2.2 million in new agricultural tech and awarded more than $825,000 to promote new sustainable farming practices.

20. PostNord

PostNord is a logistics company jointly owned by Sweden and Denmark. In 2023, it delivered 243 million parcels across a network that spans virtually all the countries in the world. PostNord has taken steps to make its fleet emissions-free by 2030. This effort began with its “green corridors” initiative. PostNord’s routes between its largest cities and terminals are now fossil-fuel free, a move that has already saved more than 3,000 tonnes of emissions. As a result, today about 40% of deliveries to Swedish recipients – about 3.9 million parcels – are made sustainably.

21. Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation

SaskTel is Saskatchewan’s telecom company. It operates the province’s landlines, mobile networks and internet services. Since 2008, it has been publicly recognized as “one of Canada’s greenest employers,” not only for its work reducing emissions in its operations, but for minimizing waste and for its employee-driven community initiatives. In total, SaskTel donated $2.9 million in not-for-profit and charitable sponsorships last year, recycled more than 143,000 phones, and raised additional funds to support new biodiversity projects.

22. Electricity Supply Board

Ireland aims to decarbonize its electricity system by 2040. The Electricity Supply Board, which is owned and operated by the Irish government, supplies electricity and gas to almost 1.9 million customers across the island. In 2024, it connected 534 MW of new renewable electricity generation to the grid. By 2030, the company aims to meet 80% of demand from renewables, including not just wind and solar, but dedicated zero-emission gas-fired power generation from biomethane and hydrogen. These efforts also include a plan to actively restore ecosystems affected by ESB’s projects – both on land and offshore.

23. Ontario Power Generation

Ontario Power Generation administers approximately 160 power stations, including more than 150 hydroelectric stations, thermal stations, solar facilities and wind generation stations. But almost half of the 18,000-plus MW of power generated comes from just three nuclear power plants. Now, the Darlington plant is the first in North America to develop small modular reactors.

24. Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco)

The mining industry has a sustainability problem, says Codelco CEO Rubén Alvarado Vigar. In a 2023 letter, the head of the largest copper producer on the planet wrote that his “obligation is to trigger a profound break so that we become a sustainable industry that cares about the environment.” The company has made six commitments to this end, including implementing a clean electrical matrix, reducing inland water use, recycling 65% of non-hazardous waste, introducing new controls around tailings facilities, and improving air quality.

25. Canada Post

As of early 2024, there were fewer than 10 companies globally in the logistics and transportation sector to have a net-zero target recognized by the Science Based Targets initiative; Canada Post was one of them. In 2023, the Crown corporation delivered 168 million carbon-neutral shipments, alongside several other environmental achievements, including a 18.9% reduction in emissions and the diversion of 67% of waste from landfills. The company continues to pursue its goal of reaching net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2050.

Tristan Bronca is an award-winning magazine writer and editor based in Toronto. 

Read more: The 2025 Private 25 most sustainable private companies in the world

*N/A: Not applicable. Banks, asset management and insurance peer groups are not assessed on the sustainable investment KPI. The weight of this KPI has been reweighted to the sustainable revenue KPI. 

Methodology

Our methodology for the new Corporate Knights Private 25 and Public 25 rankings uses a mix of fixed- and variable-weight ESG and sustainable-economy KPIs to score companies against their peers. We measure the share of revenues and investments that are included in the Corporate Knights Sustainable Economy Taxonomy and percent rank those ratios against the company’s CKPG (Corporate Knights Peer Group). We then give equal weight to the ratios and the percent ranks in awarding up to 25 points for sustainable revenue and up to 25 points for sustainable investment, for a total of 50 possible points.

The other 50 points are allocated to 10 ESG KPIs, including productivities for energy, carbon, waste and water, along with board and executive gender and racial diversity, taxes paid and injury rate. In addition, penalties are levied against overall scores for a number of factors, including injuries and fatalities.

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