Jenoptik is improving in terms of sustainability

The Jenoptik Group was able to receive an A rating in the last update of the MSCI sustainability rating by the US financial services provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) in October 2020, making it one of the 25 percent of the best-rated companies in the electronic equipment sector worldwide.

The improved MSCI rating is based both on the Group’s increased employee loyalty initiatives and on the well-coordinated governance practices and guidelines on business ethics and anti-corruption. For example, MSCI rated positively the employee survey carried out every six months from 2019 onwards to improve the corporate culture as well as an adjustment made in 2020 in the remuneration system of the Management Board through the introduction of a so-called clawback clause. In the event of objectively incorrect consolidated financial statements of the company, the clawback regulates the right of repayment of the grants multi-year variable remuneration to the members of the Management Board.

According to the analysis, there is further potential for improvement on the following topics: Clean Tech Activities: e.g. agree on goals to increase investments in clean technology; Chemical Safety: lack of projects for the future reduction of chemicals of concern (phase-out plan); Controversial Sourcing: traceability of the origin of raw materials and materials.

In addition to the MSCI rating, Jenoptik was also awarded the “Seal of approval for sustainability” by the DZ Bank in November 2020, based on an assessment by the SUSTAINALYTICS rating agency, which primarily assesses sustainability risks and classifies Jenoptik as “Low Risk Company”.

“Both assessments show that we have already made considerable progress in the area of sustainability,” says Katrin Fleischer, who is responsible for sustainability/ESG topics in the Investor Relations & Sustainability department. “Together with our customers, we create forward-looking trends in the fields of energy efficiency, healthcare, the environment, mobility, and safety. With our products we aim to make significant contributions to meeting the societal challenges we face as well as to the conservation and efficient use of resources.”

Examples that illustrate the relevance of photonic products and technologies for more sustainability have been compiled in our “Focus” blog, among them “Green Photonics as the key to better air and less particulate matter”.

About Jenoptik

Optical technologies are the very basis of our business: Jenoptik is a globally active technology group and is active in the three photonics-based divisions: Light & Optics, Light & Production and Light & Safety. Under the TRIOPTICS brand, Jenoptik also offers optical test and manufacturing systems for the quality control of lenses, objectives and camera modules. VINCORION is the brand for our mechatronic business. Our key target markets primarily include the semiconductor industry, medical technology, automotive and mechanical engineering, traffic, aviation as well as security and defense technology industries. Around 4,400 employees work for Jenoptik worldwide. The Group’s headquarters are in Jena (Germany). JENOPTIK AG is listed on the German Stock Exchange in Frankfurt and is included in the SDax and TecDax. In the 2019 fiscal year, Jenoptik generated revenue of approx. 855 million euros.