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Robecosam Sustainability Yearbook 2017 The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 • RobecoSAM • 1 The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 01/2017 RobecoSAM AG yearbook.robecosam.com 2 • RobecoSAM • The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 2016 annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment 60 industries. 2,473 companies assessed* 136,817 documents uploaded 2,001,956 data points collected This is The Sustainability Yearbook 2017. * as of November 30, 2016 The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 • RobecoSAM • 3 4 • RobecoSAM • The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 Foreword Aris Prepoudis Chief Executive Officer RobecoSAM Dear Reader, RobecoSAM: the Long-Term Value Creation Global Index This is an exciting time in the Sustainability Investing (LTVC). This innovative index is built using a selection of (SI) industry. Within the past year, several large criteria from our Corporate Sustainability Assessment public sector funds have demonstrated leadership (CSA) that we believe best captures a company’s quality in seeking out innovative approaches to integrating of management and potential to create long-term environmental, social, and governance factors into value. their investment portfolios. Some were driven by the desire to reduce their portfolio’s environmental But we have also been hard at work developing a range footprint, while others sought to find ways to mobilize of new SI solutions based on data from the assessment. their capital to meet the Sustainable Development Although the CSA is best known for the aggregate Goals (SDGs), and reassuringly enough, some share Sustainability Scores that determine the components our conviction that integrating sustainability leads to of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and members better-informed investment decisions. of The Sustainability Yearbook, we have come to realize that the true power of all the data we have been But one of the key themes that emerged among collecting since 1999 lies within the individual data institutional investors in recent years is the need to shift points. Manjit Jus, Head of Sustainability Application away from a short-term mindset and reorient corporate and Operations at RobecoSAM, provides a few recent and investment strategies towards generating long- examples to illustrate how we have been increasingly term value. At RobecoSAM, we are also convinced that unlocking the full potential of the CSA by identifying, by evaluating corporate sustainability practices, we are selecting and combining subsets of sustainability sending the message that investors expect companies data to develop customized solutions that address our to focus on long-term value drivers, rather than on clients’ specific sustainability or impact objectives. short-term profits. Throughout the year, we held numerous discussions with our clients and partners on As a growing number of investors wish to measure the topic of long-termism. Such discussions were the and manage the environmental and social impacts catalyst for the development of one of the most recent associated with their portfolios, they need quantitative additions to the growing family of sustainability indices sustainability data that is comparable, financially jointly maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices and relevant, and speaks the language of business. The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 • RobecoSAM • 5 Companies understand the importance of actually Analyst Melissa Castillo Spinoso examines where our measuring the monetary value of those impacts: assessment has identified leadership in this area, and only by knowing the value of something can you makes the case that protecting human rights is about begin to make business decisions that are more likely more than just mitigating business and reputational to generate long-term value. To understand how risks, it is also about generating long-term value. companies are measuring their impacts and where they are struggling, RobecoSAM introduced an Impact As always, The Sustainability Yearbook provides Measurement and Valuation criterion into the CSA. an overview of the results of our annual Corporate Sustainability Investing Analyst Rashila Kerai highlights Sustainability Assessment and highlights key trends some of the preliminary findings of this new criterion, shaping each of the 60 analyzed industries. Each year, and talks to Akzo Nobel’s Director of Sustainability the selection criteria for inclusion in the Yearbook André Veneman to learn more about his company’s become more rigorous, and only the top 15% of innovative approach to impact valuation. the companies within each industry are selected. Companies that have demonstrated the most Over the past few years, investors, consumers and leadership in the area of corporate sustainability are society at large have been paying closer attention to recognized with either the RobecoSAM Gold Class, companies’ social impacts, particularly in the area RobecoSAM Silver Class or RobecoSAM Bronze Class of human rights. With the launch of the UN Guiding distinction. Principles for Business and Human Rights in 2011, companies have also begun to recognize that the A record-breaking number of companies took part protection of human rights is not the sole responsibility in this year’s assessment. I am delighted to see of the state, and that they too are also responsible for that every year, a growing number of companies ensuring that their activities do not have a negative demonstrate their commitment to sustainability by impact on people. RobecoSAM’s Human Rights criterion actively participating in the Corporate Sustainability evaluates the strength of companies’ commitments Assessment. The companies’ responses to our to human rights issues. Sustainability Investing questionnaire help us understand how their businesses impact our planet and society at large. By leveraging the wealth of data from the CSA, RobecoSAM is By leveraging the wealth of data from the CSA, uniquely positioned to develop solutions that are tailored to meet our clients’ Sustainability Investing RobecoSAM is uniquely positioned to develop ambitions. And I am excited to continue to work with solutions that are tailored to meet our clients’ companies, investors and external partners to shape the SI landscape by challenging companies to improve Sustainability Investing ambitions. their sustainability performance and by delivering cutting-edge investment products for our clients. 6 • RobecoSAM • The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 Table of contents FOREWORD 5 1. KNOWLEDGE FOR THE AGES: 8 MAKING THE MOST OUT OF SUSTAINABILITY DATA: Manjit Jus, Head of Sustainability Application and Operations 2. IMPACT: WHAT’S IT WORTH? 13 Rashila Kerai, Sustainability Investing Analyst • AKZO NOBEL: 4 DIMENSIONS OF PROFIT & LOSS 20 Interview with André Veneman, Director of Sustainability, Akzo Nobel 3. CORPORATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: 22 IS THE ELEPHANT FINALLY LEAVING THE ROOM? Melissa Castillo Spinoso, Sustainability Investing Analyst 4. SUSTAINABILITY LEADERS 2017 33 • INDUSTRY PROFILES: 60 INDUSTRIES AT A GLANCE 38 COmpany OvERVIEW 99 The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 • RobecoSAM • 7 Knowledge for the ages: Making the most out of sustainability data 8 • RobecoSAM • The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 While the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) is best known for the aggregate sustainability scores that determine membership in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) and the Sustainability Yearbook, RobecoSAM has increasingly moved towards identifying subsets of data to generate innovative product ideas. Manjit Jus, Head of Sustainability Application and Operations, offers three examples of how RobecoSAM has leveraged its CSA data to provide customized investment solutions targeting clients’ specific sustainability objectives. Manjit Jus Head of Sustainability Application and Operations RobecoSAM’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment Collectively, these data points offer insights into the (CSA) has been running since 1999 – making it corporate sustainability profiles of companies. Alone, one of the longest running corporate sustainability each one of these data points can tell its own unique assessments in the world. This also means that we have story – or be combined with other pieces of information now collected 17 years’ worth of non-financial data on to form new ones. thousands of companies. Multiply this by the hundreds of data points we collect for each company each year, So what happens to all of this information? With the and we are talking about a universe of data – millions digital age and the growing amount of data available upon millions of data points stored in our database. on just about anything we can imagine, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the volume of information we Collectively, the data points from our CSA have at our fingertips. How can we possibly make sense out of all this information in a meaningful and offer insights into the corporate sustainability systematic way? profiles of companies. Alone, each one of these data points can tell its own unique story. The Sustainability Yearbook 2017 • RobecoSAM • 9 We’re best known for taking holistic views on them and how it should be defined and measured. This companies’ sustainability performance by looking at means that when it comes to sustainability investing, the aggregation of all these individual, bite-sized pieces a one-size fits all approach relying on aggregate scores of information – these views form the basis for the Dow may not be suitable for all investors. For this reason, Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) – and for selecting we have been
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