Danisco and Novozymes to hook investors
to investors as the two ingredients companies clinch top slots in
this year's Dow Jones World Indexes.
Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) assess the top 10 per cent of the biggest 2500 companies in their indexes, in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria.
Based on the cooperation of Dow Jones Indexes, STOXX Ltd and SAM the findings are used as benchmarks by asset managers to manage sustainability portfolios.
Around 40 per cent of the overall score is made up of industry specific criteria that also include raw material sourcing, management of GMOs, strategy for emerging markets and brand management.
"Our performance shows investors that we effectively manage the issues that affect our bottom line," says Søren Vogelsang, vice president, sustainable development at Danisco.
Unilever came out at the top of the DJSI supersector rankings (of which there are 18 in total) for food & beverages, with Danone, Nestle and Cadbury also reaching the top ten per cent.
Elsewhere, leading food enzyme maker, Novozymes reached the number one slot in the biotechnology sector. The DJSI is composed of 58 sectors, in addition to the eighteen supersectors.
"Novozymes gained high rankings overall, but did particularly well in investor relations, R&D, environmental policy and management, environmental and social reporting, animal testing and bioethics," said the firm in a statement.
For the first time this year, R&D in health and nutrition was included as one of about 20 criteria used by SAM to assess the sustainability of food companies for the index. It is among the three criteria with the highest weighting.
In its report, the DJSI notes: "Driven by changing consumer patterns, the company has initiated a nutrition enhancement programme in 2004 in order to screen the current food and beverage portfolio and to further develop the range of healthy food options."
