Sustainability is at the heart of our business, but we like to think of it in also in material terms. This is reflected by our inclusion in several ESG benchmarks and ratings, many of which rate us a (sector) leader. Given the large number of prevailing ESG benchmarks, participating in each and every one of them is not feasible for any company, so we annually review and prioritize our participation. We are in favor of further consolidation and standardization of the ESG benchmarks, as we believe this will encourage more companies to participate than is currently the case. Our annual review of the ESG benchmarks in which to participate is based on the following criteria:
- Recognition and use by our stakeholders, including our investors
- Transparency of methodology
- Primary reliance on publicly accessible information
- Avoidance of additional administrative work
- Provision of sufficient feedback to participating companies to enable them to make meaningful year-on-year improvements
- Our priorities in 2023, and the outcomes, are listed below:
- For 2023, CDP assessed DSM as A- for climate and A- for water, and Firmenich as A- for climate, A for water and A- for forests
- We hold Platinum CSR Ratings from EcoVadis for DSM and Firmenich. The Platinum ratings places us in the top 1% of companies assessed in our industries
- dsm-firmenich received a low-risk rating from ISS QualityScore since our creation, including lowest risk (1 out of 10) in Governance. ISS ESG confirmed dsm-firmenich as ‘Prime’ according to its rating methodology. Our rating of B- puts us in the top decile relative to our industry group
- dsm-firmenich is a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index, which is designed to measure the performance of companies demonstrating specific ESG practices
- At the time of publication, MSCI had not assessed dsm-firmenich. MSCI’s most recent rating of DSM was ‘AAA’,
- Sustainalytics assessed DSM and Firmenich as being at low risk of experiencing material financial impacts from ESG factors, with both companies included in the Sustainalytics’ 2024 Top-Rated ESG Companies List