Czech energy group CEZ continues to gradually improve its ESG rating. Most recently, it has improved its ranking with the international agency Morningstar Sustainalytics, which covers over 15,000 companies from 172 countries. In the current ESG rating, the agency has moved CEZ Group by 7.6 points into a better category. In the ranking of more than 290 other rated energy companies, CEZ has moved to the first quarter. Since 2019, CEZ has improved by a total of 9 points, but the number of other energy companies that Sustainalytics also covers has increased significantly – in 2019 there were less than 190, or only two-thirds of the current number.
“For investors, banks, insurance companies and funds, ESG ratings are slowly but surely reaching the same level of importance as traditional financial indicators,” said Daniel Beneš, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of CEZ. “At CEZ Group, we began to systematically address this area two years ago and I am pleased that respected international agencies are reflecting our efforts and concrete steps in sustainability in ever-improving ratings. This is a positive signal not only for our business partners, but also for our employees, suppliers, and residents in the vicinity of our locations.”
CEZ Group’s ESG rating was also upgraded this year (a 5 percentage point shift) by the US financial company S&P Global, which provides ESG scores for 13,000 companies worldwide, and the analytical and information company MSCI confirmed CEZ’s AA rating in June this year.
“Of course, we are pleased with this progress, but it does not mean that we have achieved our goal,” added Chief Sustainability Officer Kateřina Bohuslavová. “The work on sustainability is never-ending and, like our competitors, we are constantly facing new challenges and looking for ways to move forward and improve. I am glad that CEZ is a leader in ESG not only in the Czech Republic, but it can also compare itself with other energy companies in the Central European region and with a number of large Western European peers. We will do our best to maintain this position in the future.”
According to CSR Hub, a company that compiles ratings of more than 32,000 companies from dozens of agencies into one final indicator, CEZ is now among the top 12 per cent of rated companies in the world.
