OREANDA-NEWS. The Group achieves its best score to date in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index ranking. AXA's overall score has increased from 77 to 83/100 since last year, and its inclusion in the DJSI "World" and "Europe" indices is confirmed.
This 6 points increase brings AXA ahead of 96% of its industry peers (96th percentile ranking), and significantly above the sector average of 48/100.

Developed jointly by RobecoSAM and S & P Dow Jones Indices, the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index series comprise only global sustainability leaders. The purpose of these indices is to track and rank the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide, based on an analysis of financially material Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors. They are recognized globally as a unique reference in the field of sustainability*.

AXA's score improved in all three areas of the RobecoSAM questionnaire (economic, environmental and social dimensions). Among these dimensions, the following topics may be highlighted:

  • Supply Chain Management: AXA has been particularly rewarded as the Group obtained the highest industry score in this area. AXA is active in terms of managing risks related to outsourcing, with systematic supplier screenings and audits on environmental and social issues being a priority in AXA's procurement processes.
  • Human Resources: AXA made significant progress in its 2015 score, shedding light on long-term engagement in terms of talent attraction, retention and training and support to open working environment.
  • Risk Management: RobecoSAM positively noted AXA's ongoing integration of ESG factors into risk management and underwriting guidelines supported by the monitoring of emerging risks and its comprehensive Responsible Investment Strategy.
  • Tax Strategy: RobecoSAM introduced an analysis of "responsible tax" in 2014 focusing on policy, reporting and risk disclosure. As worldwide financial services company, AXA believes these are key concerns and developed appropriate measures which are described in its public reporting.
  • Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI): as a founding member of the PSI, AXA is satisfied with a strong improvement in all three areas of the RobecoSAM questionnaire (economic, environmental and social dimensions) as the Principles promote the integration of sustainability factors into the core business. AXA's "PSI" score reached 100/100.
  • Financial Inclusion: the analysts rewarded AXA's strategy to develop of micro-insurance products to encourage the emergence of a stronger middle class in collaboration with local, regional and international partners.

"Our score reflects the continuing integration of corporate responsibility and sustainability issues into AXA's core business strategy and shows the relevance and maturity of the Group's Corporate Responsibility practices. Scoring points in the DJSI is not an end in itself: we believe that this annual benchmark pushes our business in the right direction", said Christian Thimann, Group Head of Strategy, Sustainability & Public Affairs and a member of AXA's Executive Committee.

AXA local entities' progress is also measured and encouraged with the help of an internal tool, itself adapted from the RobecoSAM methodology. AXA's approach to integrating long term environmental, social and governance factors into its business is based on detailed performance indicators that are reviewed every year by every local entity. This process and its results are fully disclosed in the CR Barometer.

 

Besides the DJSI, AXA is also included in five other ESG Indices: FTSE4 Good, Euronext Vigeo (World 120, Europe 120, Eurozone 120, France 20, Ethibel Sustainability), Oekom, Sustainalytics and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

*RobecoSAM conducts an annual analysis of the sustainability performance of more than 2,000 companies covering the major indices. The annual assessment is based on a questionnaire supported by extensive company documentation complemented by an additional analysis of media coverage, stakeholder commentaries and other publicly available sources. The questionnaire features about 100 questions on economic, environmental and social issues with a focus on industry-specific criteria that have a material impact on long-term value creation. The results underpin the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) as well as for RobecoSAM's investment needs. The possibility of being included in the DJSI is also an incentive to continually benchmark and improve sustainability performance.