GEA again listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index – as sole German machinery and plant manufacturer

Sustainability as strategic priority

GEA has solidified its membership in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, having significantly improved its score in multiple categories of the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) conducted by S&P Global, which forms the basis for inclusion. The company’s listing in the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index – the European counterpart – has also been renewed. This further bolsters the international technology group’s status as a global pioneer for sustainable and responsible corporate governance. “GEA’s inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index as sole German representative for the machinery and plant manufacturing sector is a special honor for us. Our strong position reflects how seriously GEA has taken sustainability for many years now as well as our unwavering emphasis on sustainability as a strategic priority,” says CEO Stefan Klebert.

GEA excels in leading sustainability ranking

The DJSI index family is based on an annual evaluation carried out through the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). In the course of this assessment, S&P examines numerous companies listed in the “Standard & Poor’s Broad Market Index” according to diverse and wide-ranging Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria. This year, more than 3,700 companies from 49 countries were assessed, with some 1,000 data points recorded per company. GEA’s membership in the DJSWI places it among the top 10 percent of the companies assessed in its industry worldwide. The technology group showed a significant improvement compared with the previous year, upping its score by three points to a total of 78 out of 100. This means the company achieved the third highest CSA score in the industry “Machinery and Electrical Equipment”.

High scores across multiple categories

GEA achieved the highest possible scores in the categories water, energy as well as transparency and reporting. It also scored very well in the risk and crisis management, information security and climate strategy categories. GEA’s ambitious Climate Transition Plan 2040 also contributed to the positive overall result. The company had presented the plan to its shareholders to vote on at its most recent Annual General Meeting in April. At the meeting, the Executive Board succeeded in making GEA the first company in the DAX index family to obtain approval for a groundbreaking Say on Climate resolution, with an approval rate of 98.4 percent. The new corporate strategy unveiled at the Capital Markets Day in October likewise includes bold climate and sustainability targets. Stefan Klebert: “We are by no means resting on our laurels. As part of our ‘Mission 30’ strategy, we recently adopted additional, even more ambitious measures that advance our purpose of ‘Engineering for a better world’.”

Further accolades for sustainability and ESG

GEA is regularly awarded for its ESG activities. The company has been listed in the DAX 50 ESG Index since 2020. Non-profit environmental organization CDP gives GEA an “A” for its climate activities, while the company attains an “AAA”  in the MSCI ESG Ratings. Sustainalytics classifies GEA in the group of companies with a low risk of material financial impacts as a result of ESG factors. TIME Magazine and Statista named GEA one of the world’s 500 most sustainable companies this year, ranking GEA number 33 globally and number three in Germany.