Forbes Releases 2025 Net Zero Leaders List, Spotlighting Companies Advancing Emissions Reduction Goals

Forbes has released its 2025 Net Zero Leaders list, spotlighting 200 companies making the most significant strides toward reducing or offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. Created in partnership with research firms Sustainalytics and Morningstar, the third annual ranking evaluated around 15,000 companies across three emissions categories: direct operations (Scope 1), purchased energy (Scope 2), and supply chain and product use (Scope 3).

Electric vehicle makers dominate the top spots, with Lucid Group landing at No. 1, followed by Rivian and Tesla. Lucid and Rivian, absent from last year’s list, surged ahead thanks to their near-zero product-use emissions. “Their Scope 3 performance is especially strong, and we expect that to improve as EV production scales,” said Alex Osborne-Saponja, director of ESG methodology at Sustainalytics.

Rivian’s chief sustainability officer, Anisa Costa, noted a 15% reduction in the lifetime carbon footprint of its 2024 vehicles compared to previous models. The company aims to halve life-cycle emissions from its 2022 baseline by 2030 and is collaborating with Volkswagen Group to develop next-generation EV software and design—work that will also enhance data tracking and emissions management.

The 200 companies are spread across 47 industries. Utilities leads with 19 firms on the list, followed by Construction, Chemicals, and Raw Materials (15), and Engineering and Manufacturing (13). The IT Software & Services sector, essential to the net-zero transition by helping firms monitor emissions, accounts for 11 companies, including Workiva, which ranks 50th.

Rankings were based on Sustainalytics’ Low Carbon Transition Ratings and Morningstar’s financial resilience assessments. Inclusion is entirely merit-based, with no companies paying to participate.

Source: forbes.com