Company rises by two positions as compared to last year’s DJSI ranking

Ambuja Cements Ltd., a part of the global conglomerate LafargeHolcim and one of the leading cement manufacturing companies in India, has moved two notches up to 5th rank globally in the Construction Material category adjudged by the internationally renowned Dow Jones Sustainability Index - 2018, thus setting yet another benchmark in the sustainable development.

With this, Ambuja Cement has earned the distinction of being the only Indian company to secure such a high rank – up by two positions as compared to the last year’s sustainability benchmarking.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) are a family of benchmarks that uses a best-in-class approach to select sustainability leaders from various industry sectors across the world, enabling investors to track the companies’ performance and integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios. Since the launch of the DJSI World in 1999, several other Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and new index families that rely on the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) results have been developed to meet a range of investor-specific needs.

Delighted, Ambuja Cement MD & CEO Ajay Kapur said, “We are truly honored by this highest recognition for the second year in a row from the global DJSI ranking, which is regarded as the most respected independent sustainability ranking system. While this accomplishment reaffirms Ambuja Cement as the clear leader in Sustainability, what makes us feel even more proud is the fact that we have outdone ourselves on this front despite challenges; and moved up in the ranking.”

Mr. Kapur added, “This is yet another step drawing us closer to achieving our vision as the most sustainable company in the industry. The recognition like this further strengthens our commitment to perform even better in our ongoing sustainability journey, creating greater value to all stakeholders – customers, investors, employees and society at large.”

Ambuja Cement performed exceedingly well surpassing its own 2017 scores while competing with 27 leading cement companies that were assessed worldwide.  Aligned with the 'LafargeHolcim Sustainable Development 2030’ strategy, the Company received a perfect 100 score in as many as six areas such as Tax Strategy, Materiality, Sustainable Construction, Environmental Reporting, Environmental Policy & Management Systems as well as Water Related Risks, along with another seven elements scoring over 85 percentile.

Ambuja Cement has been recognized the time and again at both Indian as well as the Global platforms. Recently, the Company won the prestigious ‘Best CSR & Sustainability Practices Award 2017’ presented by the renowned Asia Centre for Corporate Governance & Sustainability. The Company was ranked No 2 globally in the cement sector research report by the internationally renowned, non-profit organization, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Last year, Ambuja Cement bagged six awards – an ‘Outstanding Accomplishment for Corporate Excellence’ award while the rest for ‘Domain Excellence’ in environment management and corporate social responsibility– from the apex body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).