Eldorado's ESG Leadership
Eldorado Gold Earns Spot on Corporate Knights' 2026 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada
Anonymous
Eldorado Gold Corporation has landed a spot on Corporate Knights' 2026 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada, a premier sustainability ranking now in its 25th year. The recognition comes as the mining company pushes into copper production and reports a 50% female board — metrics that sit at the heart of the new ranking criteria, according to National Post.
CEO George Burns said the award
A Revamped Ranking Puts Momentum First
Corporate Knights overhauled its scoring method for 2026. Previously, half of a company's score came from 22 common ESG indicators. Now, the model places nearly all weight on sustainable revenue and sustainable investment — plus a new "momentum" metric that rewards speed of transition. Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights, put it plainly: "Speed matters" in the shift to a low-carbon economy.
Eldorado's pivot from a pure gold miner to a gold-and-copper producer aligned well with the new formula. Copper is a critical metal for electric vehicles and power grids. The company completed its acquisition of Foran Mining on April 14, 2026, adding the McIlvenna Bay project in Saskatchewan — slated to become the world's first carbon-neutral copper mine — to its portfolio, according to Whitecourt Star.
Eldorado's ESG Numbers Behind the Recognition
The company's 2025 Sustainability Report, published May 26, 2026, shows a GHG emissions intensity of 0.42 tonnes of CO2 per ounce of gold produced — reaching 46% of its 2030 reduction target. The company recycled 76% of the water used across its operations. It also invested $7.6 million in local communities in 2025, a 68% jump from the year before, according to Cochrane Times Post.
Board diversity is another pillar of the ranking. Women hold 50% of seats on Eldorado's board and make up 38% of officer and senior management roles. The company's Lamaque Complex in Quebec earned a Level AAA rating under the Mining Association of Canada's Towards Sustainable Mining framework — the highest grade available, according to Fort Saskatchewan Record.
Greek Protests and Turkish Water Fears Cloud the Picture
The Corporate Knights honour sits alongside sharp local opposition. In Thessaloniki, Greece, roughly 15,000 protesters recently marched against Eldorado's Skouries mine, citing risks of toxic dust and the destruction of 400-year-old oak forests. The mine is central to the company's plan to grow gold production by 40% by 2028. VP Nancy Woo has defended the project, saying it follows "essential European Union and Greek environmental rules."
In Turkey, environmental activists have raised alarms over water use at Eldorado's Kışladağ mine. Activist Uğur Sümer said simply: "The mine has used all our water." This comes as Turkey targets a tripling of national gold output. Critics argue that a sustainability award focused on corporate-level metrics can miss the very local, human costs of mining operations, according to Hanna Herald.
What the Award Means for Investors and Growth Plans
The Best 50 designation carries real financial weight. Institutional investors increasingly use Corporate Knights' data to filter ESG portfolios. Scotiabank kept an "Outperform" rating on Eldorado after the news, though it trimmed its price target slightly to $56 from $58 to account for heavy spending on growth projects. Analysts at Investing.com noted a P/E ratio of 11.75, flagging the stock as potentially undervalued.
Eldorado is spending $1.06 billion to build out the Skouries copper-gold mine in Greece, targeting commissioning in Q3 2026. The company posted roughly $1.8 billion in revenue in Q1 2026. Burns framed the sustainability recognition as proof that the business is built for the long term, saying "sustainability is embedded across the business from exploration through development and operations," according to Daily Herald Tribune.
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