OREANDA-NEWS. May 17, 2011. Petrobras topped the overall score in the study on sustainability that involved the main energy companies in Latin America. The ranking was compiled by Spanish consultancy firm Management & Excellence (M&E) in association with LatinFinance, an international publication specializing in the Latin American market.

According to the consultancy, this year's rankings took into account not only the level of compliance, but also whether or not the companies were in fact implementing sustainability policies. Petrobras stood out by achieving a much higher mark than its peers in the sustainability performance category.

The method for this year's report included nearly 200 attributes in sustainability, social responsibility, corporate governance, and in environmental and financial practices. The ranking is seen as a tool not only for companies to benchmark and improve their performance, but also for investors and analysts to assess the companies' future performance.

According to M&E, investors and shareholders have become increasingly interested in this type of information about enterprises. The reason is that it has been shown that investments in sustainability impact the quality of management and, thus, the financial fundamentals. For example, a good ethics program can reduce operating expenses by 5%, while broad training programs for employees can impact productivity and revenues by 30% to 800%, according to studies M&E carried out with large Latin American businesses.

Our commitment to sustainable development has afforded the company multiple recognitions. Earlier this year, we were featured among the world's 100 most sustainable companies, according to the Global 100 ranking prepared by Corporate Knights magazine, a Canadian publication specializing in social responsibility and sustainable development. And, in 2010, we were listed on the Dow Jones World Sustainability Index (DJSI), the most important global sustainability index, for the fifth year running.