Among the 350 listed companies that Carnegie analyses, it has recognised three as winners of its Carnegie 2020 Sustainability Award. The purpose of this award is to shed light on sustainability as a driver of shareholder value and to show good examples to inspire both companies and investors.
Last year, Carnegie established its sustainability prize to award companies that actively integrate sustainability to drive growth. Risks and opportunities linked to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors are a natural part of Carnegie’s top-ranked equity research. And because of this they form part of the decision process for many institutional and private investors. To further encourage and stimulate sustainable investment, Carnegie presents its sustainability award in three categories, with the winners selected from among all the companies that the investment bank covers in its analysis.
“In our research process, we award companies that have integrated sustainability into their strategy for driving growth and that actively avoid risks linked to the sustainability areas. We do not value individual sectors above others, but focus on the companies’ active sustainability work. It creates opportunities that provide competitive advantages in each industry, which also affects long-term shareholder value”, says Lena Österberg, head of equity research at Carnegie, who has been ranked as Sweden’s leading analyst for four consecutive years by Financial Hearings.
Carnegie has presented its 2020 Sustainability Award to the following Nordic companies:
Large-cap: Neste. Neste has made a remarkable transition from traditional oil refinery to a global market leader in renewable diesel, a low-carbon fuel produced mainly from waste and residues. In 2019, Neste’s renewable products helped its customers to reduce their GHG emissions by 9.6m tonnes, which equals the annual carbon footprint of 1.5m average EU citizens, or the removal of 3.5m passenger cars from the roads for a full year. New customer areas such as polymers, chemicals and aviation are also starting to take off, providing ample sustainable growth and further transition ahead for Neste.
Small-cap: Scatec Solar. Scatec Solar develops and owns solar power plants. Predominantly located in emerging markets, Scatec Solar supplies green energy to regions with electricity deficits and lack of industrial expertise. The company has a demonstrable track record of financing and developing greenfield projects in politically challenging markets, providing a competitive edge and an ability to capitalise on the accelerating growth of solar power.
Best Newcomer: K2A. Carnegie also highlights strong sustainably work among new companies on the stock exchange in the hopes that aspiring companies will, at an early stage, include sustainability in their long-term strategy. This year’s winner, K2A, has come a long way in integrating strong ESG focus into its business model. As a developer of residential buildings, K2A knows that clients today have high demands for environmentally sustainable living. With its residential rental units produced almost exclusively in its own facilities, using wood, its production has been Nordic Swan Ecolabeled (Svanenmärkt) since 2018. In 2020, K2A was the first company to use CICERO’s ‘Shades of Green’ methodology for its shares under Cicero’s brand new ‘Green Equity Framework’.