Statista chooses Upright as data partner for 2026 global impact rankings

How do you rank companies by their impact on the world – transparently, comparably, and without just taking their word for it? 

That's the question sustainability rankings have wrestled with for years. Statista – the global data-as-a-service company known for its extensive collection of statistics, reports, and insights – set out to raise the bar when building their 2026 suite of corporate impact rankings.

They turned to Upright’s proprietary net impact model for third-party, science-based data that quantifies the costs and benefits created through companies’ core business – the products and services they sell – across the full value chain, based on large-scale scientific research analysed with AI-enabled technologies rather than company-reported data. Upright is part of Statista’s wider ranking methodology considering multiple inputs.

The partnership launches with America's Top Greentech Companies 2026 on March 25, spanning multiple lists through spring and summer, and culminating in the World’s Most Impactful Companies of 2026, featured in TIME.

Why Statista chose Upright

Upright’s net impact model, in development since 2017, quantifies impact across four dimensions – environment, society, health, and knowledge – based on scientific analysis of companies' core business activities. The proprietary data engine is powering sustainability reporting, strategy, and advisory for companies and financial institutions like Swarovski, Nasdaq, the European Investment Bank, PwC, and Orkla.

Niels Terfehr, Vice President of Research and Analysis at Statista, said:

"We chose Upright for the transparent, science-backed methodology that allows for objectively comparing companies’ holistic impacts across industries, geographies, and sizes – and crucially, including private companies, a space where sustainability information is limited. As impact becomes more measurable and comparable, these rankings carry increasing weight for the companies themselves.”

For Upright, the partnership reflects a broader shift that has been building for years: corporate impact assessment moving away from self-reported narratives and toward externally modeled, quantified data.

Annu Nieminen, founder & CEO of Upright, said:

"The sustainability industry spent a long time rewarding good storytelling, as impact was seen as too complex to measure. That assumption no longer holds – with AI-enabled modeling, impact can be quantified, and companies are expected to show it. Seeing a partner like Statista, with global influence and TIME as the media partner, making that same bet is a real signal of where the industry is going.”

"And I'll say this: the lists will have surprises. The true leaders in creating value for people and the planet are not always who dominates the sustainability conversation. That gap is exactly what this data is designed to show."

The first list – America's Top Greentech Companies of 2026 – was published on March 25. More lists follow through summer, with the World’s Most Impactful Companies of 2026 as the centerpiece.