|
Winners of the Fifth Award (2005)
| Lars Rebien Sørensen |
and |
Bob Welsh |
 |
 |
Leader Award:
The 2005 Leader Award went to Lars Rebien Sørensen, Chairman and CEO of Novo Nordisk. Based in Denmark, this international pharmaceutical and biotechnology company employs approx. 21’000 people worldwide and generates annual sales of approx. CHF 6 billion. Since 1999 Novo Nordisk has managed to increase its earnings per share by more than 21% p.a. For more than 10 years Novo Nordisk has concerned itself with corporate social responsibility and sustainability, in particular listening to the opinions of different lobby groups. As a world leader in diabetes care, Novo Nordisk understands the challenges facing healthcare companies that are involved in treating chronic diseases which are very much in the global spotlight. Through concrete partnerships and fair pricing models in the world’s poorest 49 countries, Novo Nordisk has successfully contributed to sustainable diabetes healthcare.
Since joining the company in 1982, Lars Rebien Sørensen has worked for Novo Nordisk in many different countries. He has been Chairman and CEO of the Danish company since November 2000 and was instrumental in setting up the World Diabetes Foundation. The Foundation funds projects in developing countries to build local capacity and train healthcare professionals and patients in diabetes care. The World Diabetes Foundation has funded 45 projects to date and is dedicated to supporting prevention and treatment of diabetes in the developing world through the funding of sustainable projects in education, capacity building, distribution and procurement of essential drugs and monitoring. The World Diabetes Foundation strives to educate and advocate globally in an effort to create awareness, care and relief to those impacted by diabetes.
Pioneer Award:
Bob Welsh received the Pioneer Award for integrating sustainability principles into all the asset classes of the pension fund VicSuper. The public pension fund of the state of Victoria has around 200’000 members and manages assets worth CHF 3.3 billion. In Australia – the world’s third biggest pension fund market – VicSuper plays an important pioneer role with regard to its sustainable investment strategy. Last year VicSuper was one of the first pension funds in the world to publish a comprehensive sustainability report. Since all Australian employees are free to choose their own pension fund as of July 2005, VicSuper’s asset volumes are growing by about 30% p.a. on average, not least thanks to the fund’s sustainable positioning.
Bob Welsh is the driving force behind VicSuper's long-term and sustainable performance. After taking over as Chief Executive of VicSuper in 1999, Bob Welsh realised that institutional investors play a vital role when it comes to sustainable development. The principle of sustainability was already fully integrated into the business strategy by the end of 2000. As well as considering sustainability criteria when making investment decisions, VicSuper also demonstrates its high level of commitment by actively exercising its voting rights in portfolio companies and is also involved in CO2 projects as part of a long-term investment strategy.
 
About the Award
Sustainability Leaders & Pioneers
Nomination Process
Selection Commitee Members
Award Sponsors
Previous Award Winners
Media
Contact
Important Dates
|
