The Dow Chemical Company has once again been recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes (DJSI World). The 2001 DJSI World list ranks Dow as the top performer in the global chemical industry, alongside BASF. This is Dow's second year in the industry leadership position, and the third year it has been listed as an index component. In the most recent analyses (96K PDF) by SAM Research, Dow outperformed the industry average by a significant margin on every score.
"The chemical industry is moving forward in its commitment to sustainable development and its related economic, environmental and social performance," said Scott Noesen, director of Sustainable Development. "The fact that BASF is a co-leader with Dow this year is a clear example of that trend."
To determine DJSI World companies, the 2,500 largest companies in the Dow Jones Global Index are assessed according to more than 30 specific criteria for their economic, environmental and social performance. The resulting indexes represent the top 10 percent of leading sustainability companies. This year, there are 312 companies from 62 industry groups in 26 countries.
In its first three years, the DJSI World list has consistently outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This fact further underscores the importance of sustainable development in achieving business goals and value growth.
The DJSI World is a cooperative effort between Dow Jones Indexes, publisher of the world's best-known stock indicator, and SAM Sustainable Asset Management, a Switzerland-based, internationally renowned pioneer in sustainability investing. The indexes are derived from, and fully integrated with, the Dow Jones Global Indexes. They share the same methodology for calculating, publishing and reviewing. The selection of index components follows a defined, rule-based process and is verified by independent auditors.
See these related links for more information:
- www.sustainability-index.com (for more on the DJSI World report).
- www.sam-group.com (for more about benchmarking of sustainability performance).