At the beginning of March, as a result of the annual review of environmental and social ratings, the Swiss corporation Nobel Biocare, a global leader in innovative dental products, has been included in the active “Swiss equities” segment with a “++” rating. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that all the group’s affiliates have obtained ISO 9001 or 9002 certification and that the group has adopted corporate principles on diversity with respect to its human resources in the countries in which it has its production sites (United States and Sweden). Nobel Biocare also regularly publishes information on its efforts towards environmental protection. In terms of corporate governance, however, a numnber of shortcomings regarding the organization of the group’s Board of Directors must be noted (committees and limited number of directors).
At the same time, holdings in Synthes-Stratec have been sold, the review having resulted in a lowered rating of the company’s environmental and social sustainability. Indeed, Synthes-Stratec remains still behind its peers in terms of its responsibilities towards society as a whole.
Lastly, Zurich Financial Services has been underweighted in the segment. Although the company had opted for a policy of sustainable development, it has fallen behind its main competitors in this respect. In particular, it has still not published a satisfactory sustainable development report comprising its policy and indicators relating to all of its stakeholders. The environmental and social rating of Zurich Financial Services has therefore fallen from “+” to “-“ on a scale of “+++” to “---“.
All the revised company profiles of Swiss corporations tracked by ethos can be consulted on:
