29 October 2012
Standard Bank Group ranked South Africa's greenest company
Standard Bank Group has been ranked South Africa's "greenest" company in the 2012
Newsweek Green Rankings.
Standard Bank Group was ranked 21st globally in the Financial Sector category and
64th overall. Other South African companies included in the rankings were MTN, Bidvest
and Sasol.
Newsweek, an international weekly news magazine, publishes the Green Rankings annually,
focusing on the largest publicly traded companies in America (US 500 list) and worldwide
(Global 500 list). Each list consists of the largest 500 companies by revenue, market
capitalisation, and number of employees, as at 30 June 2012.
To produce the 2012 Green Rankings, Newsweek collaborated with leading environmental
research providers, Trucost and Sustainalytics, to assess each company's environmental
footprint, management of that footprint, and transparency
Companies on each of the US 500 and Global 500 lists are ranked by their overall
Green Score. This is derived from three component scores: Environmental Impact,
Environmental Management, and Environmental Disclosure, weighted at 45%, 45%, and
10% respectively.
All scores are out of a possible 100. Standard Bank Group's overall score was 71.7,
with its Environmental Impact scoring 81.6 Environmental Management 58.7, and Environmental
Disclosure 86.4.
More than 700 metrics, including emissions of nine key greenhouse gases, water use,
solid waste disposal, and emissions that contribute to acid rain and smog, are factored
into the Environmental Impact Score
The Environmental Management Score assesses how a company manages its environmental
performance through policies, programmes, targets, and certifications.
The Environmental Disclosure Score evaluates the breadth and quality of company
environmental reporting of their material impacts as well as company involvement
in key transparency initiatives such as the Global Reporting Initiative and Carbon
Disclosure Project.
Karin Ireton, Head: Sustainability Management at Standard Bank Group, says the ranking
was recognition of Standard Bank Group's approach to embedding sustainability thinking
into the way it does business.
"We believe business has an important role to play in greening our economy and we
are at the forefront with innovations in financing of energy efficiency, the roll
out of solar water heaters and South Africa's renewable energy programme. We are
also investing in the social capital of this country, building the capabilities
of our staff and partnering with others to address the need for agricultural financing
and infrastructure in Africa."
Read all about Standard Bank Group's sustainable initiatives visit www.standardbank.com/sustainability.
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