Rated on the index for the second successive year, Akzo Nobel significantly improved its average score in the individual indicators and achieved a best ever overall mark, climbing from a rating of 78 percent to an industry-leading 86 percent.
One of the world’s leading corporate social responsibility indices, the DJSI World Index benchmarks the sustainability performance of leading companies based on environmental, social and economic performance, including forward-looking financial indicators, and covers more than 2,500 companies worldwide, of which 300 companies from 22 countries were ranked.
Out of 85 companies in the chemicals industry category, only the top 10 percent is ranked as a sustainability leader.
Honored
“Akzo Nobel is honored that investors have rewarded the enormous progress we have made across the board in reporting on our sustainable business practices,” said Akzo Nobel Director of Corporate Social Responsibility André Veneman.
“We have significantly improved our environmental reporting and performance, and eco-efficiency is now firmly established and integrated as a mainstay in all our businesses.
“The rating clearly reflects the commitment and progress we have made by singling out our environmental performance for particular praise. The high rating is also a testament to the collective effort made by our employees around the world to embrace sustainable business practices.”
Veneman also said that the company would continue to strive to improve its overall standards in areas identified by the index, in particular in the fields of human capital development, talent attraction and retention, and supply chain management.
He added: “By meeting globally recognized corporate sustainability standards, we are sending a message to stakeholders and investors that we are a company committed to providing sustainable solutions. This rating is an indication of how the investor world perceives us and takes us seriously as a leading Triple P performer.”