{"id":3299,"date":"2026-09-10T21:02:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T21:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thisworldtobook.com\/blog\/?p=3299"},"modified":"2026-09-11T21:25:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T21:25:26","slug":"time-most-sustainable-companies-2026-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thisworldtobook.com\/blog\/time-most-sustainable-companies-2026-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"The most sustainable companies 2026: what TIME’s ranking actually measures (and what it says about your trip)"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Tourism Day falls on 27 September. Two days earlier, the GSTC<\/strong> co-hosts its sixth Sustainable Tourism Forum<\/a> in Lazise, Italy, under the theme “From Sustainability to Regenerative Tourism”<\/em>. It’s a good moment to revisit something the travel press largely let slide.<\/p>\n

On 23 June, TIME<\/strong> and data firm Statista<\/strong> published their ranking of the most sustainable companies 2026<\/strong><\/a>. Two Spanish travel companies made the list in notable positions. That raises a more useful question than the ranking itself: what exactly is a list like this measuring?<\/p>\n

What happened: 750 companies and 20+ indicators<\/h2>\n

This is the third edition. TIME and Statista started from more than 5,800 companies across 43 countries and 20 industries. They then applied a four-stage funnel to arrive at 750.<\/p>\n

Stage one is pure exclusion. Companies tied to fossil fuels, deforestation or serious environmental scandals are automatically ruled out. To do this, the analysts screen against negative lists including the Forest 500 report, Carbon Majors and the PERI top polluter indexes.<\/p>\n

Survivors are then scored out of 100 across more than twenty indicators. These include the quality and assurance of ESG reporting, alignment with standards like GRI, ISSB and ESRS, SBTi-validated climate targets, emissions, water use and workforce metrics.<\/p>\n

\n \"Corporate
The ranking scores more than twenty indicators, focused on the quality and assurance of ESG reporting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two names from Spanish travel<\/h3>\n

At the top, Schneider Electric<\/strong> holds first place for a third consecutive year. Japan’s NRI and Italian luxury house Moncler follow. For tourism, however, the name that matters is Aena<\/strong> at number 9<\/strong> globally. It’s the Spanish airport operator’s first entry into the worldwide top 10. Meli\u00e1 Hotels International<\/strong> also appears for a third year running.<\/p>\n

Why it matters: the ranking rewards transparency, not the trip<\/h2>\n

Here’s the nuance worth holding onto. The methodology scores disclosure, governance and verifiable commitments. In other words, it works as a thermometer for the quality of corporate reporting. It does not measure the environmental impact of the specific stay you book.<\/p>\n

For example, a hotel group can score well for auditing and publishing its global data properly. Meanwhile, actual performance varies considerably between individual properties. Something similar applies to an airport operator. Its operational footprint covers terminal energy, ground fleet and waste. Aviation emissions, however, come overwhelmingly from the airlines’ flights.<\/p>\n

Still, European regulation is pushing<\/h3>\n

That said, the ranking does capture something real. The ReFuelEU Aviation<\/strong><\/a> initiative requires that at least 2% of fuel supplied at EU airports be Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). As a result, operators like Aena have built incentives to speed up uptake.<\/p>\n

In addition, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)<\/strong><\/a> took effect at the start of 2026. Since then it has sharpened multinational interest in their own disclosure data.<\/p>\n

\n \"Tanker
ReFuelEU Aviation requires at least 2% of fuel at EU airports to be SAF.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kaya Axelsson<\/strong>, a climate policy researcher at Oxford University, puts it this way in the TIME piece. The next phase of corporate climate action is less about setting targets and more about changing systems. Translated into travel: the list is a starting point for asking better questions. It is not a “sustainable trip” label.<\/p>\n

In brief<\/h2>\n