Konica Minolta has been announced as the Industry Group Leader in the segment “Technology Hardware & Equipment”[1] of the renowned Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for 2017. This index is one of the most prestigious global indices for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investment – and it has included Konica Minolta for the sixth consecutive year in this selective ranking of sustainability-driven companies.
“Competing globally for this leadership position against approximately 120[2] other highly active companies in our industry group, this result makes us particularly proud”, Olaf Lorenz, General Manager International Marketing Division at Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe, commented on this rating. “It is a further acknowledgement of Konica Minolta as an outstanding global player in CSR and sustainability. Our self-conception is one of a company that is an integral value provider for its customers – and for society as a whole”, he added.
To achieve this, Konica Minolta has defined six key action fields – called materiality – that it is focusing its efforts in corporate social responsibility (CSR) on: the environment, social innovation, customer satisfaction and product safety, a responsible supply chain, human capital and diversity.
A driving force in social innovation and sustainability
When it comes to social innovation, Konica Minolta’s key target is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of human life through its corporate activities. An example for this is the launch of a new business in the area of precision medicine. As part of Konica Minolta’s healthcare business, it is promising to lead to a breakthrough in cancer treatment. Precision medicine enables medication to be tailored to the medical needs of each individual patient, thus reducing side effects and improving the quality of the patient’s life.
To become a driving force in the field of sustainability, the company has set highly ambitious emission targets for itself: by 2050, it strives to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the lifecycle of its products by 80% compared to the 2005 fiscal year level. And beyond reducing its own CO2 emissions, the company is also supporting its business partners and others to reduce their CO2 emissions with the expertise it has gained so far.
The detailed results of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index assessment also reflect this effort: six out of 23 overall categories in the evaluation are dedicated to the environmental dimension. In all of these categories, Konica Minolta was able to achieve near-perfect scores. And the company is proud to have further improved its strong results compared to last year in 10 more categories, including “Customer Relationship Management,” “Supply Chain Management” and “Innovation Management” in the economic dimension, and “Labor Practice Indicators” and “Human Capital Development” in the social dimension. In nine categories, Konica Minolta was even able to reach the perfect score of 100 points and was named the leader of the industry group, Technology Hardware & Equipment, which includes around 120 companies.
About the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World)
Launched in 1999, DJSI World is the first global index to track the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide and is provided by RobecoSAM, the Switzerland-based sustainability investment company, and S&P Dow Jones Indices in the USA. It assesses corporate sustainability from economic, environmental and social developments. The index is highly recognised among global institutional investors who take a close look at CSR management and sustainability. In the annual review of 2,500 companies around the world, 319 companies have been listed on the DJSI.
[1] This is an industry group classified according to the Global Industry Classification Standard, an international standard established by S&P and MSCI in 1999. All the companies on DJSI World are classified into 24 industry groups.
[2] This is the number of invited companies classified into Technology Hardware & Equipment.
About Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe
Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH, based in Langenhagen, Germany, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc., Tokyo, Japan, forming part of its Business Technologies business area. As a leading global services provider in the field of IT- and document processes as well as digital production printing solutions the company excels in services-led business consulting, implementation and management and provides a range of world-leading printing systems and solutions. In this context, Konica Minolta’s Optimized Print Services concept (OPS) combines consultancy, hardware, software implementation, and operation in order to enhance business process efficiency and cost-effectiveness. To support customers optimally with powerful and sustainable solutions, technology leader Konica Minolta continuously invests in research and development work and regularly sets new standards. Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe is represented by subsidiaries and distributors in more than 80 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With over 9,700 employees (as of March 2017), Konica Minolta Europe earned net sales of over EUR 2.4 billion in financial year 2016/17.
For further information about the company, please visit: www.konicaminolta.eu
