Top 10: Sustainability Certifications
After countless greenwashing controversies and unfulfilled corporate promises, consumers have become sceptical of sustainability claims.
A report from the Capgemini Research Institute found that just more than half of the public believe companies and brands are greenwashing their sustainability initiatives.
Sustainability certifications can help businesses to prove their ESG efforts are both credible and making an impact.
Sustainability Magazine has ranked 10 of the top sustainability certifications in association with ERM CVS.
10. ENERGY STAR
US EPA Administrator: Lee Zeldin
Founded: 1992
Headquarters: Washington DC, US
Focus: Energy
Established in 1992, ENERGY STAR is administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the US Department of Energy. Products that meet the EPA’s energy efficiency specifications are eligible to display the ENERGY STAR logo.
More than 75 product categories are available for the label including heating and cooling systems, commercial equipment, electronics and lighting.
The programme has saved five trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity, more than US$500bn in energy costs and prevented 4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
9. Rainforest Alliance
CEO: Santiago Gowland
Founded: 1987
Headquarters: New York, US
Focus: Agriculture
The Rainforest Alliance provides an environmental certification for sustainability in agriculture alongside developing and implementing conservation and community development programs. Rather than having predefined targets, farmers will set their own targets for improvements and define the actions needed to achieve them.
Founder and Chairman Daniel Katz says: “Our work is groundbreaking; certification has not only helped companies recognise the impact of their sourcing choices, but has also helped connect consumers with the farmers and forest communities who steward the world’s most precious landscapes.”
8. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
CEO: Rupert Howes
Founded: 1997
Headquarters: London, UK
Focus: Fisheries
The MSC says its mission is to use its ecolabel and fishery certification program to contribute to the health of the world’s oceans by recognising and rewarding sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood and working with its partners to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis.
At the United Nations Ocean Conference, it announced €5.6m (US$6.5m) in funding to support sustainable fishing by 2030.
7. Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)
Managing Directors: Rahul Bhajekar and Claudia Kersten
Founded: 2002
Headquarters: Stuttgart, Germany
Focus: Textiles
GOTS aims to be the benchmark for environmentally and socially responsible organic textiles.
Global Standard, the nonprofit behind GOTS, is set to launch its Global Responsible Textile Standard after public consultation. “On the one hand, the GOTS framework will now serve as a foundation for broader applications, while on the other, it continues to stand as the leading voluntary sustainability standard in the organic textile sector,” explain Rahul Bhajekar and Claudia Kersten, Managing Directors of Global Standard.
6. Fairtrade
CEO: Lisa Prassack
Founded: 1992
Headquarters: Bonn, Germany
Focus: Farming
Fairtrade says it works with farming co-operatives, businesses and governments to make trade fairer.
The organisation sets social, economic and environmental standards for both the companies and farmers involved in supply chains alongside protecting workers’ rights.
On her appointment as CEO, Lisa Prassack said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to join Fairtrade International in Bonn and lead the organisation and its members into the next era as we develop and implement our new global strategy.”
5. EcoVadis
Co-CEOs: Pierre-François Thaler and Frédéric Trinel
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Paris, France
Focus: Supply chains
EcoVadis is an assessment platform that rates businesses’ sustainability holistically in four categories:
- Environmental impact
- Labour and human rights standards
- Ethics
- Procurement practices.
It has screened more than two million companies across 220 industries. It uses a range of tools to provide companies with ESG insights and actionable goals.
The company’s AI risk mapping ‘IQ Plus’ leverages intelligence from the world’s largest sustainability performance database and companies’ procurement data to screen for risk factors.
4. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Director General: Subhra Bhattacharjee
Founded: 1993
Headquarters: Bonn, Germany
Focus: Forestry
FSC certification looks to ensure products are created from forests managed in an environmentally sustainable and socially beneficial manner. Its certification can be found on millions of products worldwide, verifying responsible sourcing. Its certification system covers more than 160 million hectares of forest.
“Our overall vision is of a world where a new forest paradigm is realised - where the true value of forests is recognised and fully incorporated into society worldwide,” says FSC Director-General Subhra Bhattacharjee.
3. B Corp
Co-Lead Executives: Sarah Schwimmer and Clay Brown
Founded: 2006
Headquarters: Pennsylvania, US
Focus: Business
B Corp certification is awarded to companies by B Lab for performance across social and environmental factors, accountability and transparency. Certification requires mandatory minimum requirements across seven impact topics and a two-stage assessment process.
“Our vision extends far beyond the present; we are inherently future-facing, constantly iterating, building and propelling economic systems change,” said Co-Lead Executive Clay Brown on his appointment in 2024. “Our mission now is to harness the momentum of the movement we've collectively built—to persist in effecting change despite resistance, to expand our reach and collective impact, and to continue leading by example.”
Co-Lead Executive Sarah Schwimmer said: “The potential for exponential growth in our impact is enormous. I am fully committed to embracing this responsibility, partnering with my colleagues and the B Corp community to dream big and drive meaningful change.”
2. LEED
CEO: Peter Templeton
Founded: 1998
Headquarters: Washington DC, US
Focus: Buildings
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is a green building rating system developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
Certification is awarded across a range of factors including reduced carbon emissions, enhanced energy efficiency, water conservation and materials sustainability.
LEED uses a point-based system to evaluate projects and determine certification levels and can be applied to nearly any building type including new constructions, renovations and existing buildings with a focus on operations.
On his appointment as USGBC President and CEO, Peter Templeton said: “Buildings are a primary contributor to climate change and over the past three decades the USGBC community has championed proven solutions and readied the market for critical innovation in policy, technology and practice.
“I am committed to working with our talented team and dedicated partners to advance this work further and faster to address the urgent challenges facing our families, communities and planet.”
1. ISO 14001
Secretary-General: Sergio Mujica
Founded: 1947
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
Focus: Environment
ISO 14001 is an internationally recognised standard for environmental management systems developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Key principles of the certification include establishing a clear environmental policy, identifying impacts and setting objectives, monitoring and measuring performance and improvement of the system.
There are more than 500,000 ISO 14001 certifications around the world. Certified organisations usually undergo surveillance audits each year with a recertification audit every three years.
“The over-exploitation of land and species has eroded biodiversity, with consequences such as natural disasters and unequal distribution of food and water across the world,” said ISO Secretary-General Sergio Mujica.
“Individual efforts can help, but what will really make the difference is collaboration at an international level. ISO standards can be the catalyst for that, providing agreed ways of working that organisations and governments everywhere can benefit from, to help move biodiversity issues higher up the political agenda.”
