As of September 19, 2011, specialty chemicals company LANXESS will be listed for the first time in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World, a prominent global sustainability index. The DJSI is compiled once a year according to economic, ecological and social criteria.

“Sustainable economic success is impossible without a diligent approach to the environment and society. This conviction is part of LANXESS’ philosophy. That is why the principle of sustainable development is firmly anchored in our corporate strategy,” said Management Board member Werner Breuers, who underlined the chemical industry’s role in the establishment of a sustainable society. “After all, the chemical industry contributes to environmental protection through its products. For every ton of climate gas generated worldwide today from the manufacture of chemicals, up to two and a half tons are saved through products,” Breuers added.

DJSI World follows the “best-in-class” principle: For inclusion, it is not sufficient that a company fulfills established economic, ecological and social criteria. Rather, only the companies with the best respective sustainability profile in a particular industry are accepted. Of the approximately 2,500 companies surveyed each year for the DJSI World, the top 10 percent per industry are included in this global index. The evaluation is conducted by the independent Swiss-based rating agency SAM.

The Dow Jones sustainability indices are among the most important stock indices. They give institutional investors orientation in investment decisions and show the extent to which companies include sustainability aspects in their strategy and have anchored them in their business processes. A steadily growing number of investors attach importance to this. According to the Dow Jones Index and SAM, portfolio managers in 16 countries currently use the composition of the Dow Jones sustainability indices as a basis for equity investment decisions for assets totaling over US$8 billion.

LANXESS joined the world’s biggest and fastest-growing initiative for corporate social responsibility (CSR), the United Nations Global Compact, in July. In climate protection, for example, the company is pursuing clear targets: LANXESS aims to deliver a 10 percent reduction in specific CO2 emissions and specific energy consumption for each business segment by 2015. LANXESS already reduced its CO2 emissions by around 50 percent between 2007 and 2009.

These sustainability criteria and activities also led the independent Munich-based rating agency oekom research at the beginning of the year to raise its corporate responsibility rating for LANXESS to “C+.” This improved level applies to both the “social” and “environmental” categories.

Since April, LANXESS has also met the criteria for inclusion in the FTSE4Good index, which lists companies that have performed particularly well in the areas of environmental protection, human rights and social standards.

For more information on the corporate responsibility initiatives, go to: responsibility.lanxess.com