September 2013

Siemens No. 1 in sustainability

Siemens has been named the most sustainable capital goods company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), an internationally renowned sustainability ranking published by an association of investors. The company’s top position underscores its uncontested leadership in sustainability across seven industries. Siemens also received this honor last year – the highest that a company can achieve in the DJSI.

In addition, Siemens was once again ranked the most sustainable company in its industry, which is part of the Capital Goods segment. This industry also includes General Electric, Philips and 3M. Siemens further improved its position compared to last year, achieving its best result to date.

“Capturing the No. 1 spot again is a testimony to our success in rigorously and systematically orienting Siemens toward sustainability over the last few years,” said Barbara Kux, member of Siemens’ Managing Board and the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer. The strategy, structure, programs and processes established have proven their value. “We’re now reaping the fruits of our labor – across all fields. In supply chain management, for example, we’ve not only achieved savings in the upper single-digit-billion range over the last years; we’ve also introduced a risk-based supplier qualification, and more than 1,000 suppliers have taken part in our energy-efficiency audits,” she added.

Environmentally friendly technologies are an important, continually growing business field for Siemens. Since 2008, the company has increased the revenue it generates with green products and solutions from €19 billion to €33 billion – or 42 percent of its total revenue today. In fiscal 2012, Siemens’ ecofriendly offerings enabled customers to cut their CO₂ emissions by nearly 332 million tons.

Siemens has also achieved a very good rating in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for its efforts in the area of CO₂ reduction and the battle against climate change. The CDP is supported by more than 722 institutional investors, who together administer assets totaling more than US$87 trillion and are thus in possession of large shares of the world’s top revenue-generating publicly listed companies.

27.09.2013

Nestlé tops leading sustainability indices

Member News

Nestlé is the leading food products company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the first time with a score of 88%, double the industry average.

The company has also achieved the maximum score for the second year running in the CDP ‘Climate Disclosure Leadership Index’ and the CDP ‘Climate Performance Leadership Index’, both of which are published in the Global 500 Climate Change Report 2013.

STRONG PERFORMANCE: Nestlé was measured against a number of environmental and social benchmarks.

Nestlé’s leading positions in all three indices recognise its strong performance against a number of benchmarks that measure the environmental and the social impact of its operations and the transparency of its information disclosure.

Strong policies

Nestlé’s strong policies and transparent reporting in the area of environmental sustainability – including its climate change mitigation activities, water management practices and raw material sourcing – led it to achieving 97% in the ‘environment dimension’ of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the best score in the industry.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is based on an analysis of companies’ economic, environmental and social performance, including areas such as corporate governance, climate strategy, supply chain standards and labour practices.

Halve emissions

Initiatives such as switching from long-distance road transportation to rail or short-sea shipping in Europe, opting for wind power to supply energy to its factories in Mexico, and installing wood-fired boilers at factories in France, have all helped Nestlé to maintain its position in the CDP rankings for the second year running.

The CDP indices measure the performance of the top 500 companies in the FTSE Global Equity Index in terms of their efforts to cut carbon emissions, as well as the transparency of the information they disclose.

Since 2002 Nestlé has managed to halve the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its factories per tonne of product, by continuing to improve energy efficiency, switching to cleaner fuels and investing in renewable sources.

Earlier this year the company announced its commitment to reducing direct GHG emissions per tonne of product by more than a third again by 2015, compared to 2005 levels.

25.09.2013

ING included in Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

Member News

ING Groep N.V. has been selected as an index component of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices 2013.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices(DJSI) – a respected global sustainability benchmark – tracks the stock performance of the world’s leading companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. Being included in the DJSI means that ING is among the10% best-in-class performing companies within the ordinary Dow Jones Index in terms of economic, ecological and social criteria.

Arnaud Cohen Stuart, manager Business Ethics at ING Sustainability: “We are proud to be included in the DJSI. It demonstrates how we stepped up our efforts to integrate sustainability into our daily business.”

ING is also included in the Dow Jones Europe Index this year, as well as in the Dow Jones World Index.

The indices serve as benchmarks for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios.

For more information about ING’s Sustainability approach, visit this site: www.ingforsomethingbetter.com

24.09.2013

Sustainability from the Aspect of Community Investments 2013 Conference and Community Investments Award

News

Hungarian Donors Forum’s annual event, called Sustainability from the Aspect of Community Investments 2013 Conference and Community Investments Award Ceremony is held 3rd October at Microsoft Hall. Main Parton is Zoltán Cséfalvay dr., Ministry of State for National Economy. Please find more about the topics, participants and details in the invitation below.

Invitation- MAF Conference and MAF Community Investments Award 2013short

23.09.2013

Water valuation – Building the business case

News

Water is life. Without water there would not be life on Earth. We all depend on water – people, business and ecosystems. At the same time, people and business also impact water. We use it without realizing its real value and often take the resource itself and the services it provides for granted. Water availability is increasingly limited. Globally, water resources are constant, but if current trends continue, water demand is predicted to increase by 55% worldwide between 2000 and 2050, with some industries increasing much more, such as manufacturing by 400% and electricity production by 140% (OECD, 2012). Water resources will not allow for such growth without an increase in the productivity of water use. Business as usual is simply not an option and reversing this trend is imperative.How? We need to stop wasting and mismanaging water. The unsustainable use of water can be partly attributed to the fact that we do not pay the full cost of using it. This may be due to subsidies or because we do not account for the societal costs linked to its use. This is where business can play a positive role. Companies impact and depend upon water. By looking at the value of the water they use in their operations, they can better inform management actions and limit wasteful practices.
This publication, Water Valuation: Building the business case, aims to demonstrate the business case for companies to engage in water valuation and is supported by a review of 21 business case studies that illustrate why and how different companies have carried out water valuation. It is a first response to Vision 2050, a WBCSD report that lays out a pathway leading to a world where 9 billion people live well, within the limits of the planet, by 2050 (WBCSD, 2010). Water Valuation: Building the business case paves the path towards the integration of true water values and true water costs into decision-making.

I deeply believe that progressive businesses need to look at their externalities so as to understand and manage their impacts and dependencies on natural resources, and the way these interact with societies and economies. I strongly encourage all companies to start tackling this issue, accounting for the real value of the water they are using, and to do it now, before it is too late.

WaterValuation-BuildingBusinessCase

23.09.2013