Australian Companies Amongst World’s 100 Most Sustainable

Six Australian companies have been named amongst the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations.

Six Australian based companies were included in the 2011 Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations list, with the Westpac Banking Corporation and Origin Energy LTD leading the Australian contingent at number 18 and 19 respectively.

The Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World has been produced annually since 2005 by ‘clean capitalism’ magazine Corporate Knights. The list is announced each year during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Corporate Knights says as with the past editions of the Global 100, the aim was to highlight the global corporations which have been most proactive in managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.

Corporate Knights says The Global 100 companies deserve to be recognized, because they are models for the art of the possible, living proof of how billion dollar entities can squeeze more wealth from less material resources while honouring the social contract.

Inclusion in the list is assessed on a number of factors, which include energy, carbon, water and waste productivity, leadership diversity, transparency, sustainable remuneration practices and innovation capacity.

Westpac, the top ranked Australian company and the only Australian bank to make the list, has made the list 5 times since it began in 2005.

Westpac CEO Gail Kelly says Westpac takes sustainability very seriously. She says from minimising their corporate carbon footprint, to providing finance for environmentally-friendly investments, they always use best endeavours to be a responsible corporate citizen.

Australian companies in the top 100:

Global top ten:

Corporate Knights produced the list with their Global Responsible Investment Network partners: Inflection Point Capital Management, Global Currents Investment Management, and Phoenix Global Advisors LLC.

For more information, or to view the full 100, visit http://www.global100.org/index.php