Celltrion (068270.KS) has been included in the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Indices (DJ BIC, formerly DJSI) World Index, a global ESG benchmark, for the second consecutive year, the company said Thursday. The achievement reflects the biopharmaceutical firm's continued efforts to upgrade its ESG management system alongside its global business expansion.
The DJ BIC is an ESG index calculated by S&P Global based on its annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) covering about 12,000 companies worldwide. It is regarded as a leading global ESG benchmark that evaluates corporate sustainability and long-term competitiveness across environmental, social and governance dimensions.
Celltrion was included in all three DJ BIC indices this year: World, Asia Pacific and Korea. Among them, the DJ BIC World Index includes only the top 10 percent of ESG performers among the world's 2,500 largest companies by market capitalization.
Under its vision of "building a sustainable healthcare service ecosystem based on ESG management," Celltrion is pursuing ESG initiatives across environmental, social and governance areas.
On the environmental front, the company is advancing greenhouse gas reduction initiatives based on its "2045 Carbon Neutrality Roadmap." It has also conducted life cycle assessments (LCA) on 11 of its major products to manage the environmental impact across the entire process, from raw material sourcing to production and distribution.
In the social area, Celltrion was named one of Korea's "Best Employers" for the second consecutive year in recognition of its efforts to expand youth hiring, promote parental leave and improve welfare programs. The company is also continuing activities to expand access to healthcare, including medical cost support for vulnerable groups and training for medical personnel in developing countries.
On governance, Celltrion completed the cancellation of 9.11 million treasury shares worth approximately 1.8 trillion won last month, and recently decided to cancel all of the roughly 100 billion won in treasury shares it had acquired, strengthening its shareholder return policy.
"Our inclusion in the DJ BIC World Index for the second year in a row proves that Celltrion's ESG management system and execution capabilities meet global standards," a Celltrion official said. "We will continue to systematically advance ESG management for sustainable growth."
