The 2017 DJSI review marks the fourth year running in which Westpac is rated the leading bank globally, the 10th time it has taken top spot overall and the 16th consecutive year in which it has qualified for the global index.

To put this achievement in context, there are 28 banks in the DJSI World Index for 2017, while the index from 2001 – when Westpac first joined – included 21. Just six featured on both. On this bases, Westpac is an undeniable national champion in the DJSI.

Only one other Australian company – Mirvac Group (Mirvac) – took top spot for its sector in the DJSI for 2017. While impressive, this is the first time Mirvac is rated the world’s most sustainable property-sector company.

Westpac received a sustainability score of 94 per cent from the DJSI in 2017, including sector-leading marks for corporate citizenship, business risks and opportunities, environmental and social reporting, climate strategy, anti-crime policy, materiality and labour practices.

“To be recognised as the most sustainable bank globally in our 200th year of operation says a lot about how deeply committed we are to doing the right thing,” says Westpac’s Sydney-based chief executive, Brian Hartzer. “In the last 12 months we’ve renewed and extended many of these commitments. Receiving external validation for the strength of our sustainability practices shows that we are on the right path.”

Launched in 1999, the DJSI World index claims to represent the “gold standard for corporate sustainability”.

It is the first global index to track the leading sustainability-driven companies and is based on RobecoSAM analysis of financially material environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and S&P Dow Jones Indices’ index methodology.

The goal is to create an index recognising companies’ commitment to sustainability across the full ESG spectrum. It is based on an integrated assessment of economic, environmental and social criteria with a strong focus on long-term shareholder value.

Every year, RobecoSAM assesses the world’s largest companies via its corporate sustainability assessment, which uses a consistent, rules-based methodology to convert an average of 600 data points per company into one overall score. This score determines inclusion in the DJSI.

In 2017, a total of 3,484 companies around the world were invited to participate in the process and 2,086 were assessed – roughly half each based on submitted questionnaires and publicly available information.