Norsk Hydro has made it on to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the fourth year running, in the section for energy companies. The index includes over 300 companies from 23 countries worldwide that lead their industry in terms of sustainability.
"This is great news. The Dow Jones is one of the indices we strive particularly to qualify for. The fact that we have done so for the fourth time running is recognition of the systematic efforts we make in this area," says Per Anders Oksum, who heads Hydro's Health, Environment and Safety function.
The annual review will influence the investment decisions of currently 40 asset managers who use the DJSI family as objective benchmarks for sustainability portfolios. In total, they manage close to 2 billion EUR in funds, certificates and segregated accounts based on these benchmarks.
The assessment results also offer detailed insights into the growing importance of economic, environmental and social criteria in the corporate world. Over the last twelve months, the average sustainability performance of companies has improved significantly. The integration of economic, environmental and social issues is moving up the business agenda in all sectors and has reached a high level of sophistication in particularly exposed industries.
Need for transparency
This development is mirrored by a rapidly growing number of sustainability-driven investors. "People realize that sustainability trends have an important impact on the companies they invest in. Moreover, recent corporate scandals have emphasized the need for greater transparency and accountability. As a result, an increasing number of investors is turning to the concept of sustainability to identify well-managed and future-oriented companies", explains John Prestbo, Editor, Dow Jones Indexes.
"The floods and torrential rains in continental Europe were just another – alarming – case in point for the growing environmental challenges we are facing today. Investors are increasingly translating their understanding of these sustainability trends into portfolio decisions", adds Alex Barkawi, Managing Director, SAM Indexes.
Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes are the world’s first global indexes tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. The DJSI World family covers the top 10% of the biggest 2,500 companies in the Dow Jones Global Index in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria.
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