Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has been rated as the new Super Sector Leader in Healthcare on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, placing Roche as the most sustainable healthcare company worldwide. Selection into the global Dow Jones Sustainability World Index as well as the pan-European Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index follows a thorough analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, and takes into account elements such as corporate governance, risk management, access to medicines, climate change, supply chain standards, stakeholder engagement and labor practice.
Roche received maximum scores in the following categories: Research and Development, Environmental Policy/Management System and Environmental Reporting.
"Roche has been a regular member of these indexes since 2004, and while the company has always performed amongst the best, this is the first time that we are rated as the number one company," said Severin Schwan, CEO Roche Group. "Sustainability is at the core of all business practices at Roche and this recognition of our commitment is an additional incentive to continue our efforts while delivering truly innovative medicines for patients with unmet medical needs."
About the 2009 DJSI review
The 2009 analysis of sustainability leadership was performed by the SAM group, a sustainability investment specialist, together with Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX Ltd., two leading global index providers. Accounting for issues such as corporate governance, climate change, supply chain standards, and labor practices, the annual review of the DJSI family is based on a thorough assessment of corporate economic, environmental and social performance. Its results influence the investment decisions of asset managers in 16 countries who have licensed the DJSI family as benchmarks and underlying for a variety of sustainability-driven portfolios - including mutual funds, segregated accounts and structured products, as well as an exchange traded fund that is listed on Euronext. Total assets under management in DJSI-based investment vehicles currently amount to close to $6 billion.
The sector leader is the top company in each of the 19 sectors analysed, with the healthcare super sector leader being chosen from over 70 companies specialising in pharmaceuticals, medical products, healthcare providers and biotechnology.
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the worldâs largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in diabetes management. Rocheâs personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. In 2008, Roche had over 80'000 employees worldwide and invested almost 9 billion Swiss francs in R&D. The Group posted sales of 45.6 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information: www.roche.com.