Japanese Companies Lead World in Corporate Green Push
By Reuters | 14 Jan, 2026

22% of Japanese firms achieved climate leadership status, followed by 17% of UK, 16% of EU and 8% of China and Southeast Asia.

 Japanese companies have topped an annual ranking of corporate climate efforts in part because more have now had their targets signed off by a leading independent validator, non-profit data tracker CDP said on Wednesday. 

Japan took the lead with 22% of companies achieving what CDP defined as "climate leadership", followed by the UK with 17%, the European Union with 16%, and China and Southeast Asia at 8%, it said in a report, co-authored with consultants Oliver Wyman.

As the world's only independent environmental disclosure system, CDP assesses over 10,000 companies on their awareness of environmental issues, management practices, transparency and performance.

It also looks at whether targets have been signed off by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a leading independent standard setter - something that had helped the Japanese firms outperform, CDP Chief Executive Sherry Madera said.

Now in their second year, the rankings showed that global companies were still prioritising sustainability, despite geopolitical and economic uncertainty and a recent wave of climate regulatory rollbacks in the U.S. and Europe, she said.

Companies were also assessed on climate, water and forest performance, which covers emissions and climate strategy, water use and risk management, and deforestation risks in key commodities, such as palm oil, soy, timber and cattle.

The report found that all of the top-performing companies on climate and most of those leading on the topics of water and forest tied executive pay to environmental goals.

“Maybe companies are becoming quieter when celebrating their wins in the market, but they are still working towards sustainability, and year-on-year, leaders in the Corporate Health Check are the ones who link their executive pay to climate leadership and that trend has solidified," said Madera. 

(Reporting by Sharon KimathiEditing by Simon Jessop and Tomasz Janowski)