Diageo tops food and beverage sector in latest FTSE4GOOD ethical investment index

Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks business, has further strengthened its sustainability credentials with the news that it has topped the food and beverage sector in the FTSE4GOOD index 2012.

The index, which is designed to objectively measure the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards, saw Diageo’s score of 4.8 out of 5 beat a prestigious group of companies from the food and beverage sector including Unilever, Coca-Cola, Heineken and Nestle. Diageo was also jointly named as the leading UK company in the overall rankings and placed joint second globally behind Vivendi.

Carolyn Panzer, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Diageo comments: “This recognition by the investment community reflects the clear progress Diageo has made with our sustainability and responsibility strategy. Initiatives such as our Water for Life Programme in Africa, which works to extend access to clean water for 1 million new people in Africa every year to 2015, Learning for Life which has trained approximately 60,000 students with employment skills in Latin America, and Champions for change which supports social entrepreneurship in Asia, are a key examples of how we are working to embed sustainability at the heart of the business.”

Diageo has also committed to a set of ambitious environmental targets for 2015 including improving water efficiency by 30%, reducing water wasted at water stressed sites by 50%, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 50%, eliminating waste sent to landfill, reducing the polluting power of wastewater by 60% and making all its packaging 100% recyclable.

To compile the FTSE4GOOD index, FTSE looks into a company’s corporate responsibility performance. The analysis covers environmental indicators such as climate change and environmental management; social indicators such as human and labour rights and supply chain labour standards as well as governance (countering bribery, corporate governance).

Now in its 11th year, FTSE4GOOD was launched in 2001 and tracks over 2,300 public companies. The selection criteria for the index reflect a broad consensus on what constitutes good corporate responsibility practice globally. Using a widespread market consultation process, the criteria are regularly revised to ensure that they continue to reflect standards of responsible business practice, and developments in socially responsible investment as they evolve.

For more information on FTSE4Good visit FTSE4Good or to view Diageo’s online Sustainability & Responsibility Report 2011, visit www.diageoreports.com/sr/