Essilor has been ranked number five in the 2016 Newsweek Green Rankings, created in partnership with Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
Since 2009, the Newsweek Green Rankings have been one of the world’s foremost corporate environmental rankings which assess the overall environmental performance of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States and the 500 largest publicly traded companies globally.
Essilor has grown significantly in recent years and now employs 61,000 people in 63 countries, operates approximately 540 production sites on five continents and has more than AU$3.6 billion in purchasing. According to Essilor, this growth, along with changes in regulations and stakeholder expectations, has led the company to raise the bar in terms of its environmental sustainability responsibilities.
“For nearly 170 years, Essilor has demonstrated that a commitment to sustainable development is part of our DNA,” said Jayanth Bhuvaraghan, chief Mission Officer at Essilor International. “We are honoured to be recognised by the Newsweek Green Rankings for our accomplishments. These clearly support what we believe to be our fundamental contribution to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, namely our mission to improve lives by improving sight.”
Essilor entities around the world contribute to sustainable and responsible development: reducing water and energy consumption; innovating; promoting diversity; ensuring quality working conditions; and connecting suppliers and customers to its mission. The company has reduced water consumption by 40 per cent and energy consumption by 22 per cent in its mass production plants over the last seven years.
In 2015, the company was ranked, for the fourth consecutive year, among the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (Global 100) Index by Corporate Knights. US magazine Forbes also ranked the Group amongst the World’s Most Innovative Companies for the fifth year running. Lastly, Essilor was selected as one of 50 companies that are changing the world in the first edition of Fortune magazine’s “Change the World” list.
