SWEDEN - Storebrand, the Norwegian insurer and asset manager, came in 9th on the Global 100 list of the most sustainable companies in the world, published at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Global 100 judges looked at a range of sustainability criteria, but focused on proactive environmental, social and ownership issues.

Some of the criteria included environmental issues such as energy efficiency and CO2 emissions, as well as innovation and the number of women on the board.

Among the top 10 companies, five were Nordic. 

The top seeded company was Norway's Statoil. Among financial services companies, France's Credit Agricole came ahead of Storebrand, while Danske Bank was ranked 10th.

In other news, the life insurance arm of SEB, the Swedish banking group, returned 10.8% for 2010, below its 15.2% return for 2009.

The collective surplus, or buffer capital, came in at 110%, an improvement from 102% in 2009. The solvency ratio also increased, up by 9% to 183%. 

Lastly, Swedbank's traditional pension product returned 9.3% for the full year 2010, significantly lower than the 20.8% posted in 2009, while Handelsbanken's life operations boosted assets by 12% in 2010 to SEK75bn (€8.5bn).

Topics