Vattenfall received the highest ranking for sustainability performance

In parallel to being assessed for their financial and business performance, companies are to an increasing extent, also rated for their sustainability performance.

The environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria is a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments.

Highest possible rank

Environmental criteria look at how a company performs as a steward of the natural environment. Social criteria examine how a company manages relationships with it stakeholders like employees, suppliers, customers and the communities where it operates and issues such as business ethics and human rights.

The Governance part assesses how the company is steered, looking at policies, internal controls and management systems in place, and issues like  company’s leadership, executive pay, audits and shareholder rights.

“We are very pleased that we are ranked ‘Leader’ by Sustainalyctis. This is an improvement from last year’s ranking – where we were rated as ‘outperformer’ - and the highest rank possible,”  says Anne Korthals Altes, Sustainability Manager at Vattenfall.

Important rating

Vattenfall was assessed against 192 other companies in the oil, gas and energy industry. The ESG rating is important, as many investors incorporate Sustainalytics' analysis into their investment decision-making process.

”ESG is increasingly mainstream and integrated as a core component of investor strategies. ESG ratings are also growing in importance as investors look for detailed ESG data and qualitative assessments. It is very positive to see that all the great progress on Sustainability throughout Vattenfall is acknowledged by Sustainalytics – one of the highest regarded ESG ratings,” says Johan Sahlqvist, head of Investor Relations at Vattenfall.