Roche named Dow Jones Sustainability Index leader in healthcare for third consecutive year

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that it has been recognized as the most sustainable healthcare company globally in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), for the third year in a row. The DJSI World and DJSI Europe Indexes track the performance of the leading sustainability companies based on environmental, social and economic performance.

“We are proud to be again designated Supersector leader in healthcare in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. This top ranking is a reflection of Roche’s commitment to its employees, communities and the environment. Sustainable corporate policies and practices ultimately create long-term value for our stakeholders and promote innovation,” said Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche. “Over the past year we have made progress on our diversity and energy goals as well as introduced new programmes to increase access to our products in developing countries. Our ongoing leadership position will further encourage us to drive these programmes while continuing to discover and develop innovative medicines and diagnostic solutions for patients with unmet medical needs”.

Some of Roche’s efforts emphasized in this year’s DJSI assessment were Roche’s programmes focused on attracting and retaining talent, developing future leaders as well as environmental management and reporting. In addition, managing innovation along with our contribution to improving patient health outcomes was highlighted.

In 2009 Roche defined five-year corporate goals, with Key Performance Indicators enabling it to measure the progress. Amongst them, Roche introduced a diversity objective to increase the percentage of women in key positions by at least 50 percent, plus an energy efficiency goal of a 10 percent reduction in energy consumption by end 2014.