The Group improves its business sustainability

Milan, 2 November 2016 - Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cables and systems industry, has improved its ranking in several international sustainability indices, thus receiving recognition for its commitment in all Corporate Social Responsibility segments. 

The Group has reported a significant improvement in the assessment of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), one of the most prestigious world sustainability indices recognised for assessing the financial performance of 2,900 companies at global level.

The company was ranked fourth place in the “Electrical Components & Equipment” industry of the review of the RobecoSAM Swiss sustainability rating agency, which since 1999 has been performing an annual assessment of companies listed on the world’s major stock exchanges, selected based on the best results achieved in their respective industries and then included in the DJSI. 

Prysmian has improved its ranking due to numerous actions completed in the environmental, social and governance fields. These include, amongst other things: vesting the Board of Directors’ Compensation and Nomination Committee with the tasks of overseeing sustainability issues; adopting inclusion and diversity policies; implementing a Code of Business Conduct designed to disseminate responsible business practices along the supply chain; reducing emissions of ozone-depleting substances; extending the KPIs adopted in its own Sustainability Report, drawn up according to the G4 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative.

The Group’s commitment to sustainable innovation in all business segments is one of the strengths in this process. Prysmian has recently expanded its sustainable Afumex Green cable line, made of a material developed from sugar cane, and completed the development and testing of the new P-Laser 600 kV cable system, which ensures greater environmental sustainability, superior electrical performance and reduced network management costs compared to traditional technologies. 

Prysmian Group’s focus on environmental sustainability is also borne out by the CDP Climate Change Report 2016, in the Italian edition of which Prysmian is included in the elite of companies that have publicly reported their environmental information as part of the Climate Change programme. The Group has scored B (on a scale of eight grades from A to D) in the “Industrials” sector, which will serve as the baseline against which CDP will assess companies’ improvement in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the Paris COP21 goals. 

The Group was also recently included in two other sustainability indices. These are the STOXX^® Global ESG Leaders Index, created by STOXX Limited, a global index provider, and based on a transparent performance assessment process that identifies a panel of global leading firms in terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) KPIs, and Carbon Clean 200, a report that evaluates the world’s largest public companies on the basis of their green energy revenues, in which Prysmian is the only Italian company in the ranking, placing 49^th out of the 200 companies included. 

In 2015, Prysmian Group was included in the prestigious FTSE4Good Global Index, consisting of companies that stand out for the ethical, transparent and sustainable management of their activities.