Signify Named Industry Leader in the 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability Index
October 3, 2018
Signify achieved Industry Leader status in the sustainability index’s Electrical Components and Equipment category. The company’s overall score was 88 out of 100 points. This is the second year in a row that Signify has been named Industry Leader and the second year the company has been included since it became an independent company. Signify became the new company name of Philips Lighting in May 2018.
“We’re extremely proud to be recognized for the continuous progress that we’re making on sustainability, which is central to our company purpose,” says Eric Rondolat, CEO of Signify. “The past few months we have seen floods in India and Japan, heat waves in Europe and North America and extreme droughts in Australia, showing that global warming is real and we need to take action. It is very important for us to be named for our leadership and contribution to such challenges for the planet.”
In its annual evaluation, the index recognized Signify’s strong performance through the launch of its “Brighter Lives, Better World” program, focusing on sustainable operations and revenues. As part of that program, Signify has made significant progress toward its commitment to become carbon neutral in 2020, reducing its carbon footprint by 20% over the course of 2017. Top scores (100/100) were obtained by Signify in the categories environmental reporting, operational eco-efficiency and innovation management.
Looking ahead, RobecoSAM identifies these drivers for this industry: product innovation will continue to gain strategic importance for companies in the electrical components and equipment industry. Companies that prioritize product research and development, have a strong product pipeline and reduce their time- to-market cycles will be able to capture and retain market share. Emerging trends are providing opportunities for companies focused on automation, new energy alternatives and climate change mitigation solutions. Investments in smart power transmission, distribution and clean power generation will increase as developed markets update aging energy infrastructure and emerging markets expand their power grids. However, exposure to emerging markets and public sector projects can increase the risk of corruption. As components become integrated into wider networks and are exposed to sophisticated digital security threats, product technologies need to be increasingly secure. A highly complex value chain makes strong supply chain management essential. Monitoring issues such as human rights, conflict minerals and environmental compliance will remain important.
Launched in 1999, the index represents the gold standard for corporate sustainability and is the first global index to track the leading sustainability-driven companies based on RobecoSAM’s analysis of financially material Environmental, Social, and Governance factors and S&P DJI’s robust index methodology.
RobecoSAM assesses the world’s largest companies via its annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment, which uses a consistent, rules-based methodology to convert an average of 600 data points per company into one overall score. This score determines inclusion in the DJSI. As more companies dedicate themselves to sustainable business practices, the number of companies that want their efforts measured and assessed via the CSA continues to rise (+5% in 2018).
Find out more about the 2018 results: www.robecosam.com/en/sustainability-insights/about-sustainability/corporate-sustainability-assessment/review.jsp.
