Lack of government action stymies progress at corporate level
Sustainability ratings among listed companies worsened slightly last year overall as governments of developed nations and the United Nations largely failed to advance sustainable laws and regulations, according to independent rating agency oekom.
The number of listed companies from developing countries that meet minimum sector-specific sustainability management requirements was almost unchanged last year at 16.8 percent, from 16.7 percent in 2012, oekom says. Meanwhile, the number of companies that performed poorly in sustainability ratings rose slightly to 53.1 percent last year from 52.3 percent the year before.
‘Progress is generally very slow – surely too slow given huge global problems such as climate change, species extinction and the eradication of poverty,’ writes oekom CEO Robert Hassler in the company’s 2014 corporate responsibility review. ‘Where politics is lagging behind ‒ if not actually failing ‒ in setting up the framework for sustainability, the impetus must come from elsewhere.’
Companies from Finland lead the sustainability list, with 64.3 percent of them being awarded oekom’s ‘prime rate’ for meeting minimum sustainability criteria, the ratings agency says. Germany comes next, at 58.3 percent, followed by Italy at 50 percent and the Netherlands with 40.7 percent.
The bottom four nations of the 14-member list are all from outside Europe, with Japan performing the worst, at just 7.7 percent. Canada is next-worst, at 8.1 percent, with the US at 9.5 percent and Australia at 12.1 percent.
Among sectors, the household products industry is at the fore, with 46.3 percent being awarded oekom’s prime rate. The automobile sector is next with 42.7 percent, followed by the paper and forestry industry at 41.6 percent and software and services at 34.4 percent.
The worst industry is real estate, with just 18.4 percent of the sector’s companies receiving oekom’s prime rate. Oil, gas and consumable fuels score 22.4 percent while banking ranks third-last at 23.8 percent and insurance is rated 25.9 percent, oekom says.
