15 Most Sustainable Countries

CSR business values are gaining in prominence as both business partners and consumers realize its importance. As a Canadian call centre that also values sustainability, we found it of particular interest to see how Canada ranked in this area on a global scale. We have explored Canada’s position on the world’s stage in posts like the best country to live, smartest countries, the happiest countries, the  most peaceful countries, the most sustainable countries, the friendliest countries, the most charitable countries, the most prosperous countries, the best countries for quality of life, the best countries for business, the top countries for life expectancy, the best countries for working women, the best country for world travel & tourism, the best countries for human development, the top countries for Clean Capitalism, the best country for child well-being, the best countries from social progress, the best countries for higher education, the most popular countries, the least corrupt countries, the best countries for paid vacation days, the countries with the best reputation, the best countries for global professionals, the best countries for ease of doing business, the best countries for starting a business, the best country for business, the best country for customer satisfaction, the most gay positive country, the best countries with the most competitive economies and the best countries for entrepreneurship. Today, we’ll be adding the 15 most sustainable countries to this list based on Corporate Knights (CK)’s 2013 Sustainable Countries Scorecard.

CK is “a media, research and financial products company focused on quantifying and animating clean capitalism drivers for decision makers” and this 2nd edition of the Sustainable Countries Scorecard took into account a broader spectrum of countries. In the 2012 edition CK only looked at G20 countries whereas its 2013 publication included “34 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the five BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.” This gives a better picture of sustainability around the globe.

The “countries were measured across 15 equally weighted categories (covering 25 key performance indicators) to come up with a sustainability score out of 100.” The 15 indicators were: natural capital, human capital, intellectual capital, manufactured capital, social capital, financial capital, consumption, ecological footprint, savings, income distribution, health, quality of life, educational attainment, equality and transparency and fairness. Based on this methodology, the 15 most sustainable countries are:

1. Sweden – Score: 76.8%
2. Norway – Score: 74.2%
3. Finland – Score: 69.6%
4. Denmark – Score: 67.5%
5. Switzerland – Score: 66.6%
6. Austria – Score: 65.4%
7. Japan – Score: 63.8%
8. Australia – Score: 63.2%
9. Luxembourg – Score: 63.0%
10. Netherlands – Score: 61.9%
11. Germany – Score: 61.7%
12. France – Score: 60.7%
13. Belgium – Score: 60.1%
14. Korea, Rep. – Score: 59.9%
15. Canada – Score: 56.2%

The United States came in 22nd place with a score of 46.9%.

Congratulations to Canada for making the top 15 – we hope it creeps its way up the list in the years ahead.

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