OREANDA-NEWS. AXA’s overall score has increased from 77 to 83 /100 since last year, and its inclusion in the DJSI “World” and “Europe” indices is confirmed. This was announced by RobecoSAM, a specialist sustainability rating agency and investor and by S&P Dow Jones Indices, a financial market indices provider, in their latest review. This 6 points increase brings AXA ahead of 96% of its industry peers (96th percentile ranking), and significantly above the sector average of 48/100.

The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index series comprise only global sustainability leaders. The purpose of these indices is to track and rank the leading sustainability - driven companies wor ldwide, based on an analysis of financially material Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors. They are recognized globally as a unique reference in the field of sustainability.

AXA ’s score improved in all three areas of the RobecoSAM questionnaire (economic, environmental and social dimensions). Among these dimensions, the following topics may be highlighted:

  • Supply Chain Management: The Group obtained the highest in dustry score in this area . AXA is active in terms of managing risks related to outsourcing, with systematic supplier screenings and audits on environmental and social issues being a priority in AXA’s procurement processes.
  • Human Resources: AXA made significant progress in its 2015 score, shedding light on long - term engagem ent in terms of talent attraction, retention and training and support to open working environment.
  • Risk Management: RobecoSAM positively noted AXA’s ongoing integration of ESG factors into risk management and underwriting guidelines supported by the monito ring of emerging risks , and its comprehensive Responsible Investment Strategy.

“ Our score reflects the continuing integration of corporate responsibility and sustainability issues into AXA's core business strategy and shows the relevance and maturity of the Group’s Corporate Responsibility practices. Scoring points in the D JSI is not an end in itself: we believe that this annual benchmark pushes our business in the right direction ” , said Christian Thimann, Group Head of Strategy, Sustainability & Public Affairs and a member of AXA's Executive Committee.

ABOUT THE AXA GROUP

The AXA Group is a worldwide leader in insuranc e and asset management, with 161 ,000 employees serving 103 million clients in 59 countries. In 2014, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 92.0 billion and IFRS underlying earnings to Euro 5.1 billion. AXA had Euro 1,277 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2014. The AXA ordinary share is listed on compa rtment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol CS (ISN FR 0000120628 – Bloomberg: CS FP – Reuters: AXAF.PA). AXA’s American Depository Share is also quoted on the OTC QX platform under the ticker symbol AXAHY. The AXA Group is included in the main inte rnational SRI indexes, such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and FTSE4GOOD.