The Sustainability Yearbook 2013 Leading Countries

Nine US-based companies, more than any other country, have been awarded gold medals for sustainability practices in RobecoSAM and KPMG’s Sustainability Yearbook 2013.

The US gold medal winners include Molson Coors, Alcoa, Sonoco Products, Herman Miller, UnitedHealth Group, Baxter International, Waste Management, MeadWestvaco and PepsiCo.

Germany and South Korea were tied for second place with six medals each. German gold medalists are Siemens, SAP, BMW, Henkel, Adidas and travel firm TUI.

In South Korea, GS Engineering & Construction Co., personal products firm Amorepacific Corp., SK Telecom, communications company KT Corp and retailer Lotte Shopping set the standard as industry leaders. In addition, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. were also awarded a gold medal.

Australia, Taiwan and Canada were represented in the top 10 list of gold medal-winning countries. While the US won the competition, the Asia Pacific was the best-represented region, followed by North America, Europe, Latin America and Africa.

For this annual competition RobecoSAM reviews the sustainability performance of more than 2,000 companies across 58 sectors. Each company is assessed on up to 120 financially material economic, environmental, social and governance criteria specific to its own industry, with a focus on long-term value creation.