We see increasing recognition on the part of socially responsible and mainstream investors and analysts that strong performance on sustainability issues can deliver improved financial results in the long term and provide a proxy for the overall quality of a firm's management.
We cooperate with many of the sustainability ranking organizations. Their rankings and the evaluations behind them are important for understanding our own position relative to the rest of the industry and better understanding our strengths and weaknesses.
In 2006, we were included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and the FTSE4Good Index, based on favorable evaluations of our sustainability programs and performance.
The UK's Business in the Community, in its Corporate Responsibility Index, ranked Ford first in the Automobiles and Parts sector and in the top 100 companies in 2006. Ford's performance was rated in the "silver" or next-to-highest band overall, and above the sector average in every aspect except environmental impact. Business in the Community provided specific feedback on Ford's performance, which can be viewed here.
Ford also earned "best in class" status for its leading environmental and social performance from Storebrand, a leading Scandinavian financial services company, which has approximately €25 billion in assets under management, all of which are subject to an extensive Group SRI Policy. Only those companies ranking in the top 30th percentile of Storebrand's CSR performance analyses are considered "best in class." These companies also qualify for participation in Storebrand's investment universe.
