Company leads the Dow Jones Sustainability Index again for the fifth time in six years.

It represents a quick and successful response after the company’s run of four consecutive years at the top came to an end in 2016.

The new listing means that AkzoNobel has now featured in the top ten for 12 consecutive years, highlighting our ongoing commitment to working with customers to develop sustainable solutions that make a positive impact on the whole value chain.

“It’s a great achievement to be leading our industry and peers again in doing sustainable business,” said CEO Thierry Vanlancker. “It’s proof that putting sustainability at the heart of our business strategy leads to better long-term business results, both for ourselves and our business partners.”

He added that the real value and purpose of the DJSI lies in its effectiveness as a benchmark tool to continue to improve. “It challenges us to become more eco-efficient, improve safety, attract and retain talent and, most importantly, to develop innovative solutions and improve relationships with customers.”

Regarded as the most respected independent sustainability ranking system, the DJSI World Index benchmarks the sustainability performance of leading companies based on environmental, social and economic performance, including forward-looking indicators.

The ranking covers a broad range of topics that incorporate the whole business, including:

• Customer focus
• Innovation
• People, process and product safety
• Integrity
• Operational excellence
• Corporate Citizenship

Continued Vanlancker: “Just because we are leading the ranking again, we can’t afford to become complacent. We need to keep improving even further in order to make the giant leaps that will be required for us to create a more sustainable future.”