Novozymes sustainability leader in global index

With a high score in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Novozymes maintains its ranking as leader of the biotechnology sector.

Today, the investment group Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) announced that Novozymes once again earned the title as sustainability leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

Novozymes led its sector from 2000 to 2007. In 2009, Novozymes regained its leadership position in the Biotechnology sector, and this position remains with Novozymes for 2010 with an overall score of 84%, measured across 23 performance criteria.

Novozymes’ Vice President of Finance Mads Bodenhoff: “It is fantastic that we keep our position as leader of the biotech sector. It is our goal to achieve a Gold Class rating by SAM in the Sustainability Yearbook, and our position as sector leader moves us closer to this goal.”

Novozymes sees sustainability as a very significant lever in growing its business, as Novozymes’ enzyme, microorganism and biopharma products are the key building blocks for new technologies and products that can fundamentally redesign how we use the world’s resources. A number of analysts and rating agencies assess the sustainability performance of companies, and Novozymes uses the highly respected Dow Jones Sustainability Index and SAM’s rating as a benchmark to compare its performance to peers.

A solid performance
Each year, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index evaluates the 2,500 largest companies worldwide based on more than 20 indicators, which include criteria such as corporate governance, risk & crisis management, labor practice, customer relationship management, standards for suppliers, and eco-efficiency – giving a complete picture of how sustainable a company’s operations are. The companies best prepared to seize the opportunities and manage the risks associated with economic, environmental and social developments are selected for inclusion in the Index. This approach fits well with Novozymes’ vision of a future where the company´s biological solutions create the necessary balance between better business, cleaner environment and better lives.

Novozymes scored 100% for the company’s record in 3 out of 4 categories within the environmental dimension, while examples on leading scores in other criteria were Stakeholder Engagement and Human Capital development (both 100%) and Customer Relationship Management (89%).

About the Dow Jones Index and SAM
Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) comprises the leading companies in terms of sustainability around the world. Based on long-term economic, environmental, and social criteria, it captures the top 10% of the biggest 2,500 companies worldwide. The investment volume of DJSI based portfolios exceeds USD 8 billion.

Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) is an investment group focused exclusively on sustainability investing and provides asset managers with benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios. SAM partners with Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX Limited to publish and license the globally recognized Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI).