– Ferrovial heads the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes of the construction industry worldwide
– It is the only Spanish construction group in both the DJSI World and the DJSI Stoxx
Madrid, September 11th, 2006. For the fifth consecutive year, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), a leading benchmark of companies committed to sustainability, has recognised Ferrovial’s commitment to sustainable development as one of the pillars of its business strategy.
This recognition over five years by the world’s principal indexes is proof of the robustness of Ferrovial’s sustainability strategy and its integration into the group’s business areas, particularly its sound financial policy and risk management systems. Environmental performance, supply chain management and the ability to attract and retain talent are some of the most highly-rated aspects, in addition to transparency in the social and environmental areas.
“We are very satisfied to have completed five straight years among the world’s leading companies recognised by analysts for their long-term management approach and maximum commitment to sustainability,” said Joaquín Ayuso, CEO of Ferrovial.” And the fact that we head our industry worldwide encourages us to tackle further challenges in the future”.
Specifically, although the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (www.sustainability-indexes.com) includes 318 companies from 24 countries that represent 20% of the capitalisation of their respective sectors, scored on more than 20 criteria reflecting economic, environmental and social dimensions, Ferrovial is the industry leader in the latest index line-up, ahead of a select group of constructors that includes Balfour Beatty (UK), Hochtief (Germany), Lend Lease Corp. (Australia) and Vinci (France).
The world’s leading construction company
Vicente Alfaya, who is in charge of coordinating sustainability policies at Ferrovial, attributes this recognition to “the company’s efforts to innovate and its commitment to being a pioneer worldwide in implementing environmental management systems and socially-responsible business strategies”.
Since the mid-1990s, analysts have been rating Ferrovial as a benchmark in the industry and they “openly acknowledge its capacity for leadership and innovation in such areas as corporate governance, overall risk management, environmental performance measurement, care for biological diversity, development of social outreach projects, and work-life balance for employees”. Alfaya highlighted the recent launch of CanalConstruccionSostenible.com, an innovative initiative of Ferrovial and Fundación Entorno.
The indexes’ results influence investment decisions by asset managers throughout the world which have acquired licences to use the DJSI as a benchmark or underlying for a variety of portfolios focusing on sustainability, including mutual funds, segregated accounts and structured products.
The aspects analysed by the indexes include the Economic dimension (corporate governance, investor relations, strategic planning, risk management, codes of conduct, etc.), the Environmental dimension (disclosures in the annual report, environmental actions and management of activities, recycling and energy use policies, etc.), and the Social dimension (human resources management, involvement in communities’ social development, etc.). The list of companies is selected according to indicators defined by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes and then verified externally.
