Company is ranked seventh overall but No.1 among UK-headquartered organisations
UK RB (Reckitt & Benckiser) announced on 20 January that it has been ranked seventh in the Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (Global 100) Index.
RB was also placed highest amongst the 11 UK companies in this year’s index.
This is RB’s first time on the Global 100, one of the world’s leading sustainability indices for global equity investors. RB per- formed particularly well against its peers in the household products industry on energy, carbon, water and waste productivity.
“The Global 100 represent the corporate trailblazers who are forging new ways to make more with less,” said Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights. “While RB performed well across all
12 indicators, the success of its sustainability strategy is clearly evidenced by the high scores achieved for energy, carbon, water and waste productivities.”
Since launching their better business strategy in 2012, the company has decreased its water use by 19%, carbon emissions by 4% and energy use by 6%. More than 70% of the firm’s manufacturing sites are now sending zero waste to landfill.
“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made since launching our better business sustainability strategy two years ago,” said RB CEO Rakesh Kapoor. “Our ranking in the Global 100 is the result of the drive of our people to outperform on our ambitious environment targets as they do in every aspect of our business.”
RB was also the top-scoring household products company in the Dow Jones Sustain- ability Index. As a result, it has been included in RobecoSAM’s 2015 Sustainability Yearbook and has received the Industry Leader, Gold Class distinction for its excellent sustainability performance.
RB sees itself as a business inspired by a vision of a world where people are healthier and live better. The company claims to focus on maximising its positive effects on health and hygiene behaviour of the world’s citizens through education, innovation and collaboration, and on reducing negative environmental and social impacts across the value chain.
RB is targeting a third reduction in water impact, a third reduction in carbon and to have a third of its net revenue coming from more sustainable products by 2020.
It is also the Save the Children charity’s largest FMCG global partner, with a new partnership vision to stop diarrhoea being in the top five of the world’s killers of under- fives. Overall RB wants to reach 200m people to improve their health and hygiene behaviour.
RB’s sustainability strategy and latest sustainability report can be found at www.rb.com/ sustainability
The 2015 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (Global 100) Index is man- aged by Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media and investment advisory company.
Companies named to the Global 100 index are the top overall sustainability performers in their respective industrial sectors, selected from a starting universe of 4,609 listed companies with a market capitalization greater than USD2bn.
The Global 100 is determined using 12 quantitative sustain- ability indicators, including the amount of revenue companies generate per unit of energy consumed, the ratio of CEO to average worker pay and lost-time injury rate.
RB (formerly called Reckitt Benckiser) is the world’s leading consumer health and hygiene company. The company has operations in more than 60 countries, with headquarters in the UK, Singapore, Dubai and Amsterdam, and sales in almost 200 countries. The company employs about 37,000 people.
RB is in the top 20 of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Today it is the global No.1 or No.2 in the majority of its fast-growing categories, driven by an exceptional rate of innovation.
The company’s health, hygiene and home portfolio is led by 19 global Powerbrands including Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Lysol, Clearasil, Veet, Finish, Air Wick, French’s, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Dettol, Harpic, Bang, Woolite, Mortein, Vanish and Calgon.