Davos, Switzerland – A new global business ranking – called the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World – was unveiled here today at the World Economic Forum, identifying the top 100 companies that are leading the way to a more sustainable world.

Among the winners is U.K.-based BP PLC, the world’s second largest oil and gas company, which owns a cutting edge solar power business and is introducing lower-emissions fuels such as natural gas at its retail outlets. BP has also invested in renewable energy technology (fuel cells, wind energy, and photovoltaic) and entered cross-industry R&D sustainability partnerships.

Another winner is Japan’s Toyota Motor, one of the world’s leading automakers, recognized for developing and successfully commercializing the marquee environmental technology of the decade for the auto industry: the hybrid-drive vehicle. Toyota’s hybrid Prius model was the fasting selling car in the United States in 2004.

U.S.-based Alcoa also made the list. As the world’s leading primary aluminum producer, Alcoa is on track to reaping $100-million worth of environmental and energy cost-savings. The company is also poised to benefit from the auto industry’s adoption of aluminum, with its excellent strength-to-weight ratio that helps create fuel efficient vehicles that produce lower tailpipe emissions.

The ‘Top 100’ companies emerged from a pool of over 2,000 firms, representing such large global indices as the S&P 500, MSCI World, FTSE 350 and Eurostoxx. Companies were selected on their ability to manage strategic opportunities in new environmental and social markets.

“All companies may be created equal but not all are the same. The Global 100 sets out in one crisp list the best all-round global companies, trailblazers that are potential allies in helping to create a better world,” said Toby Heaps, Editor of Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media company that produces the world’s only mainstream magazine focusing on corporate social responsibility in which the Global 100 list will appear annually.

Companies were rated on such criteria as strategic governance, environmental initiatives, and human capital/labour relations practices. Research and analysis was conducted by Innovest, a leading environmental investment advisory firm with offices in New York, London and Toronto.

“How companies perform on environmental, social, and strategic governance issues is having a rapidly-growing impact on their competitiveness, profitability, and share price performance,” said Dr. Matthew Kiernan, founder and CEO of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. “We at Innovest congratulate the Top 100 sustainability companies; we consider each of them to be particularly well-positioned to capture opportunities in this new world we are all entering.”

Global 100 Rankings by Country:

Great Britain 32US20Germany 9Sweden7Canada6Japan5Netherlands5France4Finland3Denmark2Spain2Switzerland2Australia1Belgium1Norway1

British Companies on the Global 100 Sustainability list:

British Airways plcAirlinesHBOS PLCBanks – UK & IrelandDiageo plcBeverages & TobaccoSABmiller plcBeverages & TobaccoPilkington plcBuilding ProductsHays plcCommercial Services & SuppliesDavid S. Smith Holdings plcContainers & Packaging3i Group plcDiversified Financials – UKScottish And Southern Energy plcElectric Utilities – IntlExpro International GroupEnergy Equipment & ServicesJ Sainsbury plcFood & Drug RetailingCadbury Schweppes plcFood ProductsUnileverFood ProductsCentrica plcGas UtilitiesSmith & NephewHealth Care Equipment & SuppliesTaylor Woodrow plcHomebuildingWhitbread plcHotels Restaurants & LeisureAviva plcInsurance – UK & IrelandBP plcIntegrated Oil & GasGUS PLCMultiline RetailMarks & Spencer plcMultiline RetailCairn Energy PLCOil & Gas Exploration & ProductionGlaxoSmithKline plcPharmaceuticalsSevern Trent plcPublic ServicesPearson plcPublishingBritish Land Co plcReal EstateLand Securities plcReal EstateSlough Estates plcReal EstateKingfisher plcSpecialty RetailBAA PlcSurface TransportPeninsular And Oriental Steam Navigation CompanySurface TransportBT Group plcTelecommunications

U.S. Companies on the Global 100 Sustainability list:

United Technologies Corp.Aerospace & DefenseUPSAir Freight & CouriersBank of AmericaBanks – N. AmericaPepsiCoBeverages & TobaccoPitney BowesCommercial Services & SuppliesHPComputers & PeripheralsFPL Group IncElectric Power Companies – N. AmericaPinnacle West Capital CorporationElectric Power Companies – N. AmericaAgilent Technologies Inc.Electronic Equipment & InstrumentsXerox CorporationElectronic Equipment & InstrumentsSchlumberger LimitedEnergy Equipment & ServicesBaxter International Inc.Health Care Equipment & SuppliesMarriott International Inc.Hotels Restaurants & LeisureEastman Kodak Co.Leisure Equipment & ProductsAlcoa Inc.Metals & MiningWeyerhaeuser CompanyPaper & Forest ProductsBristol-Myers Squibb CompanyPharmaceuticalsIntel CorporationSemiconductor Equipment & ProductsEcolab IncSpecialty ChemicalsAT & TTelecommunications

German Companies on the Global 100 Sustainability list:

Volkswagen GroupAutomobilesHypovereinsbankBanks – EuropeFresenius Medical Care AgHealth Care Providers & ServicesHenkelHousehold & Personal ProductsSiemens AGIndustrial ConglomeratesHeidelberger Druckmaschinen AGIndustrial MachinerySAP AGSoftwareDeutsche TelekomTelecommunicationsAdidas-Salomon AGTextiles & Apparel

Swedish Companies on the Global 100 Sustainability list:

FoereningsSparbankenBanks – EuropeEricssonCommunications EquipmentSkanskaConstruction & EngineeringVolvoConstruction & Farm MachineryElectroluxHousehold DurablesSvenska Cellulosa AktiebolagetPaper & Forest ProductsSAP AGSpecialty Retail

Canadian Companies on the Global 100 Sustainability list:

Royal Bank Of CanadaBanks – N. AmericaTransAlta UtilitiesElectric Utilities – IntlEnbridge Inc.Gas UtilitiesManulife Financial CorporationInsurance – N. AmericaSun Life FinancialInsurance – N. AmericaAlcan Aluminium Ltd.Metals & Mining

Japanese Companies on the Global 100 Sustainability list:

Denso CorporationAuto ComponentsToyota Motor CorporationAutomobilesKuraray Co. Ltd.Commodity ChemicalsRicoh Company Ltd.Electronic Equipment & InstrumentsNTT DoCoMoTelecommunications

Swiss Companies on the Global 100 Sustainability list:

ABB Ltd.Electrical EquipmentSwiss Reinsurance CompanyInsurance – Europe

Australian Companies on the Global 100 Sustainability list:

Alumina LimitedMetals & Mining

For a complete listing of companies by country, please visit: www.global100.org

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Matthew J. Kiernan, Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, 905-707-0876;

Toby A.A. Heaps, Corporate Knights, 011-41-78659-3549; or

Melita Vega, Hill & Knowlton (Toronto), 416-413-4743