Roche Holding ($RHHBY) has topped the healthcare category in the 2011 World Sustainability indexes released last week by Dow Jones ($DJ) and collaborator SAM. It's the third consecutive year Roche has topped the list, the company says. The indexers added 41 companies this year and eliminated 23, yielding 342 companies that meet the stringent sustainability qualifications. That number is up from 323 last year.
Astellas Pharma was among the largest additions to the Asia Pacific index this year while Eisai was removed. McKesson ($MCK) was removed from the retail super sector in the North America index.
Medical device maker Medtronic ($MDT) was the largest addition to the world healthcare index.
SAM, for Sustainable Asset Management, is an investment advisory firm of Netherlands-based Robeco Investment Management, which considers environmental and social activities in addition to financial performance when assessing companies. SAM collaborates with Dow Jones in compiling the annual index.
- here's the Roche release
- see the index review release
- here are the indexes (PDF)