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Innovest Identifies the 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the World

CSRwire Release

Date: January 30, 2008

Institutional investors choosing environmental, social and governance leaders over laggards

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND – January 28, 2008 - On Thursday, January 24, 2007, Innovest Strategic Value Advisors officially launched the fourth Global 100 list of the most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Global 100, initiated by Corporate Knights Inc. with Innovest as the exclusive research provider, includes companies from 16 countries in sectors ranging from Oil and Gas to Wireless Telecommunication Services that were evaluated according to how effectively they manage environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities, relative to their industry peers.

Dr. Matthew Kiernan, CEO of Innovest, an international investment advisory firm, whose analysis underpins the list, notes: "As global investors become increasingly concerned about economic prospects for 2008, we believe that the Global 100 will be particularly well positioned to weather the storm and deliver superior value to investors." This optimism would seem to be borne out by the live three year performance of the Global 100 which, as a group, outperforms the MSCI World Index benchmark by over 700 basis points per year and the Dow Jones Titans Index by 900 basis points per year.

This year, the UK accounted for the most constituents, at 24, plus two that are jointly headquartered in the UK. The US followed with 16 and Japan accounted for 13. For the first time a Chinese company - MTR Corporation, which runs Hong Kong's mass transit system – was included in the Global 100.

Thirty-two of last year's list fell out of the index this year, including Google, HSBC, and Scottish and Southern Energy. Meanwhile, new additions included private equity firm 3i, Spanish construction and energy company Acciona and mining company Rio Tinto.

"Like the companies ranked on this list, Innovest is proud to be at the forefront of this growing wave of sustainability," says Matthew Kiernan. "Sustainability may be a moral issue for some, but we believe that real and sustained action will only be taken by those who understand how crucial this is to investment risk and returns," he adds.

Toby Heaps, co-Founder and Editor of Corporate Knights magazine, says that, "Increased environmental scrutiny and regulatory action are opening the floodgates for trillions of dollars of investment capital to flow into companies with a green edge, and the G100 are well-placed to surf this long-wave."

The G100, a select group of companies taken from a pool of some 1,800 international companies, provides investors - and other stakeholders - with a unique evaluation tool.

The 2008 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World
3I Group PLC	Diversified Financials - UK
Accor	Hotels Restaurants & Leisure
Adidas Salomon Agency	Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods
Advanced Micro Devices	Semiconductor Equipment & Products
Agilent Technologies Inc	Electronic Equipment & Instruments Goods
Air France-KLM	Airlines
Alcoa Inc	Metals & Mining
American International Group Inc	Insurance - N. America
Atlantia	Transportation Infrastructure
Atlas Copco AB	Industrial Machinery
Babcock & Brown	Investment Banking & Brokerage
BASF AG	Diversified Chemicals
Baxter International Inc	Health Care Equipment & Supplies
British Land Company PLC	Real Estate Management & Development
British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC	Broadcasting & Cable TV
BT Group PLC	BT Group PLC
Cable & Wireless PLC	Alternative Telecommunication Carriers
Cattles PLC	Consumer Finance
Centrica PLC	Multi-Utilities & Unregulated Power
Coca Cola Company	Beverages & Tobacco
Credit Agricole SA	Global Banks
Daikin Industries Limited	Building Products
Deutsche Boerse AG	Diversified Financials
Deutsche Post AG	Air Freight & Logistics
Dexia	Banks - Europe
Diageo PLC	Beverages & Tobacco
Eastman Kodak Company	Leisure Equipment & Products
Electrocomponents PLC	Trading Companies & Distributors
Fabege AB	Real Estate Management & Development
Fortum Corp.	Electric Utilities - Intl
FPL Group Inc	Electric Power Companies - N. America
Fresenius Medical Care AG	Health Care Providers & Services
Gamesa Corp. Technologica	Electrical Equipment
General Electric Company	Industrial Conglomerates
Genzyme Corp.	Biotechnology
Glaxosmithkline PLC	Pharmaceuticals
Grupo Ferrovial SA	Construction & Engineering
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB	Specialty Retail
Hbos PLC .	Banks - UK & Ireland
Hewlett-Packard Company	Computers & Peripherals
Holmen AB	Paper & Forest Products
Iberdrola SA	Electric Utilities - Intl
Inditex SA	Specialty Retail
ING Groep NV	Diversified Financials - Europe
Insurance Australia Group	Insurance - Asia
Intel Corp.	Semiconductor Equipment & Products
Johnson Matthey PLC	Metals & Mining
Kesko Corp.	Food & Drug Retailing
Kuraray Company Limited	Commodity Chemicals
Lafarge	Construction Materials
Land Securities PLC	Real Estate Management & Development
L'Oreal	Household & Personal Products
Marks & Spencer Group PLC	Multiline Retail
Matsushita Electric Industrial Company	Household Durables
Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG	Containers & Packaging
Mitchells & Butlers PLC	Hotels Restaurants & Leisure
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited	Industrial Machinery
MTR Corporation Limited	Road & Rail Transport
Neste Oil Corporation	Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing
Nestle	Food Products
Nexen Inc	Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
Nike Inc	Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods
Nikko Cordial Corp.	Diversified Financials - Asia
Nippon Yusen KK	Marine Transport
Nokia Corporation	Communications Equipment
Novo Nordisk A/S	Pharmaceuticals
Novozymes A/S	Specialty Chemicals
NTT Docomo Inc	Wireless Telecommunication Services
OMV AG	Integrated Oil & Gas
Pinnacle West Capital Corp.	Electric Power Companies - N. America
Reed Elsevier PLC	Publishing
Ricoh Company Limited	Electronic Equipment & Instruments
Roche Holdings Limited	Pharmaceuticals
Royal Bank Of Canada	Banks - N. America
Royal Bank of Scotland	Global Banks
Royal Dutch Shell PLC	Integrated Oil & Gas
Sainsbury (J) PLC	Food & Drug Retailing
Saipem	Energy Equipment & Services
SAP AG	Software & IT Services
SCA AB	Paper & Forest Products
Scania AB	Construction & Farm Machinery & Heavy Trucks
Sekisui Chemical Company Limited	Homebuilding
Smith & Nephew PLC	Health Care Equipment & Supplies
Smiths Group PLC	Industrial Conglomerates
Societe Generale	Global Banks
State Street Corp.	Diversified Financials - N. America
Swiss Reinsurance Company	Insurance - Europe
The Capita Group PLC	Human Resource & Employment Services
Tietoenator OYJ	Software & IT Services
Toppan Printing Company Limited	Commercial Services & Supplies
Toyota Motor Corp.	Automobiles
Transcanada Corp.	Gas Utilities
Unibail Holding SA	Real Estate Investment Trusts
Unilever PLC	Food Products
United Technologies Corp.	Aerospace & Defense
Vestas Windsystems A/S	Electrical Equipment
Walt Disney Company	Movies & Entertainment
Westpac Banking Corp.	Banks - Asia
Yell Group PLC	Advertising