Dow Jones Sustainable Index (DJSI) er verdens mest prestisjefulle liste å ha sitt foretak på. Her handler det ikke bare om hvilkg gevinster man gjør, men DJSI ser i tillegg på sannsynligheten for at foretaket langsiktig skal fortsette å eksistere. En miljøbelastende industri kan tvinges til å stanse opp og et it-foretak kan bli utkonkurrert – selv om de i dag er store og sterke.
Tre foretak befant seg i toppen av DJSI – Volkswagen, Toshiba og Ricoh. Når det sto klart at Volkswagen har løyet og bedratt, ble de tvert kastet ut av listen. Også Toshiba har vært uærlige med sine opplysninger og er tvunget ut av denne prestisjefylte indeksen.
Men Konica Minolta er fortsatt med for fjerde år på rad, og Ricoh er på listen for tredje år.
Det siste konstaterer Laurel Brunner i denne ukens Verdigris kronikk:
The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) is a suite of the world’s most influential indicators for corporate sustainability. They are considered the gold standard for sustainability and they are strict, with external audits, so they matter. Volkswagen has just been dumped because of its cheating on emissions tests, and Toshiba was also dropped following disclosures of fraudulent accounting. But Ricoh, one of the biggest players in the graphic arts market, has maintained its place on the DJSI World Index for the third year running.
The DJSI World Index is one of a dizzying array within the suite, but it’s probably one of the most important and hotly contested. All of the indices are compiled using the same method, following a best-in-class approach to measure the performance of the world’s sustainability leaders. Companies can only be included in an DJSI if they meet a range of long term economic, social and environmental criteria. Participation is by invitation only based on financially material Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, and nearly 3,000 companies were assessed for this year’s DJSI. The DJSI World Index lists only 317 companies and in the category for Computers & Peripherals and Office Electronics Ricoh was one of seven selected out of 30 nominations. Ricoh is also included in the DJSI Asia Pacific index.
Assessment evaluations are done in the context of general and sector-specific trends. The two companies maintaining the indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices and RobecoSAM, use a systematic methodology for all indices that allows investors to benchmark sustainability-driven investments.
The reason for so many indices is to provide different criteria for different geographies and sectors, and to provide investors with as much guidance as possible, within the context of specific interests, such as ethics or regional investment preferences. There are also subindices for some sectors, but sadly none for media companies. That’s either because the media industry is rubbish at sustainability or because investors aren’t concerned with the sustainability credentials of the media. There is a certain irony to that.
That Ricoh has made it to the DJSI three years in a row is excellent news, so well done Ricoh! It will certainly strengthen the company’s position in global financial markets, as investors incline more and more to companies that are actively pursuing sustainability policies. For the graphics industry, investment decisions based on a manufacturer’s sustainability profile are rare. However Ricoh is doing very well in the sector so perhaps word will spread regardless. It would be great to see other major players in our industry striving for similar goals.
– Laurel Brunner
