3BL has named Berry Global to its annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking, recognizing outstanding environmental, social and governance (ESG) transparency and performance among the 1000 largest U.S. public companies.

This is the second year Berry has been included, making significant gains from 2022 by moving from an overall ranking of 97 to 60. In addition to the company’s progress reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Berry received recognition for its strong ESG performance overall, including efforts to improve corporate governance, increase transparency and performance of the results of annual employee engagement surveys, and drive circularity by collaborating across the plastics value chain.

“Now more than ever, our customers and partners are looking for corporate leadership on social impact and sustainability issues. Being a good corporate citizen is central to who we are and how our company operates,” says Kevin Kwilinski, chief executive officer of Berry Global. “This recognition reaffirms our commitment to creating innovative, sustainable packaging and products that make life better for people and the planet.”

The 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking is based on 184 ESG factors in seven pillars: climate change, employee relations, environment, governance, human rights, stakeholders and society, and ESG performance. Factors look for specific types of ESG disclosures, including data, management approach, performance, policies and codes, strategy, and targets.

Using a methodology developed by 3BL, all Russell 1000 Index companies are researched by ISS ESG, the responsible investment research arm of Institutional Shareholder Services. To compile the ranking, corporate data and information was obtained from publicly available sources between July 2022 to July 2023, rather than questionnaires or company submissions. There is no fee for companies to be included in 100 Best Corporate Citizens and companies have the option to verify data collected for the ranking at no cost.

“Achieving the transformational targets in the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals in this decisive decade requires all companies to truly embed ESG issues into the core of their business,” says Dave Armon, CEO of 3BL. “The 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2023 are answering the call by demonstrating the societal and bottom-line value of leadership and transparency around ESG topics. They are setting ambitious goals, outlining robust strategies for achieving them, disclosing data to measure progress, and accounting for all stakeholders in business decisions.”