DSM and Novozymes Lead in Sustainability Index Categories, Coke Dropped From Index

DSM further built its successful and long-standing collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme and increased its advocacy and implementation activities to fight hidden hunger and malnutrition.

Sep 9 2011 --- Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, has once again retained its number one position in the chemical industry sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. This is the third consecutive year that DSM has held this top position in worldwide sustainability and the sixth time in total since 2004. In 2007 and 2008, the two years when DSM wasn’t ranked number one, it was still among the leaders in the sector.

“We are very proud to be listed again as the leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index,” said Feike Sijbesma, CEO/Chairman of the DSM Managing Board. “This is a recognition of our continuous efforts in this field. Sustainability is one of our core values and increasingly one of our key business growth drivers. We continuously strive for sustainable solutions that create value for society, customers, our employees and shareholders."

DSM uses its unique capabilities in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences to address three key global societal trends: Global Shifts, Climate & Energy and Health & Wellness. The main underlying drivers of these trends are the world’s population growth and increasing life expectancy on the one hand, and increasing economic prosperity in the high growth economies on the other. The three trends are creating new needs for millions of people across the globe. DSM aims to meet these needs by providing innovative and sustainable solutions.

This year, DSM once again took concrete steps to actively reduce not only its own but also its customers’ carbon and ecological footprint with innovative products and processes. In the first half of 2011, 87% of DSM's innovation pipeline were ECO+ solutions. In addition, DSM announced that it will open a new commercial scale bio-based succinic acid plant in Italy, in cooperation with Roquette, and strengthened its yeast technology leadership for second generation biofuels by acquiring the C5 Yeast Company.

DSM also further built its successful and long-standing collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme and increased its advocacy and implementation activities to fight hidden hunger and malnutrition around the world through a partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to collectively work to meet the nutritional challenges presented in the developing world.

Launched in 1999, the DJSI are the first global indexes tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. Today, the index family has approximately USD 8 billion in assets under management in a variety of financial products including mutual funds, separate accounts, notes and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). With approximately 60 licenses, the DJSI have been linked to financial products in 16 countries, an indication of investors’ increasing appetite to utilize the index as a means to reflect their sustainability convictions within their portfolios.

Novozymes has again this year been ranked best-in-class in the Biotechnology sector with an overall score of 87out of 100, measured across 23 performance criteria. Novozymes obtained the highest industry score in 12 categories such as Climate strategy, Human capital development and Code of conduct/Bribery & Corruption.
 
According to the Index, the greatest improvements this year in Novozymes’ performance are within Corporate Citizenship/Philantrophy, Bioethics, Labour Practice and Eco-efficiency. As an example, a new corporate citizenship strategy, focusing on activities where Novozymes can offer its capabilities within biotechnology and environmental responsibility, was implemented. Another key achievement since last year is that all of Novozymes electricity usage in Denmark now comes from wind turbines and despite increasing production, Novozymes has lower CO2 emissions than in 2005.
 
“Novozymes has continuously managed to improve its score in the index. This ability is a result of a strong focus on integrating sustainable solutions into our own organizational practices. We are proud to be rated industry leader in Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes as this index considers Novozymes business performance measured on economic, environmental and social indicators,” says Novozymes’ Vice President of Finance Mads Bodenhoff.
 
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. Sustainability is a significant lever in growing its business, as Novozymes’ enzyme and microorganism products are the key building blocks for new technologies and products that can fundamentally redesign how we use the world’s resources.

Coca-Cola Co. is the largest food and beverage deletion from the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) annual review, with Coke’s arch-rival PepsiCo heading up the food and beverage sector.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. will be added for the first time to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America.

ConAgra Foods is one of four food processing companies listed on the DJSI North America. The company achieved the food industry's leading scores in Corporate Governance, Environmental Policy/Management Systems, Human Capital Development, and Labor Practice indicators.

"Earning a place on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index is a tremendous compliment to the work our employees do on a daily basis to do the right thing for our communities and the environment," said Gary Rodkin, CEO. "Though honored by this achievement, we know that our journey does not end here. Our employees will continue to find ways to enhance sustainable business practices and develop innovative programs to deliver on our citizenship commitment."