SolarWorld AG / Miscellaneous
29.04.2008
Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Asbeck: Climate Protection and Sustainability are fundamental Value
Contributions
Sustainability and climate protection are elementary components of
SolarWorld AGs corporate development. Among 200 stock-listed public
limited companies, SolarWorld was awarded by the University of Münster and
the Deloitte management consulting firm for its sustainability reporting
with the first place. A current study on the integration of non-financial
performance indicators in the financial reporting of the 2006 fiscal year
(the so-called Sustainable Development Key Performance Indicators /
SD-KPIs) assessed SolarWorld AG as the best German company when it came to
the reporting of these indicators. In the Management Report subject to
statutory audit the company had primarily emphasized the importance of the
sparing use of resources, energy efficiency and fair employee relations as
the crucial criteria of successful company-wide economic management.
Increased attention in the capital market
The demands of Sustainable Development (SD) Management on industry and
society have increased by leaps and bounds worldwide in the last few years.
In addition to financial factors like sales and earnings figures
non-financial performance indicators have increasingly been determining
corporate success. Environmental and social factors are used more and more
frequently by the capital market to assess the business situation, the
expected development as well as the evaluation of the companys risks and
opportunities. Non-financial performance indicators like for example the
energy and GHG intensity of production but also the quality of the working
conditions for the employees may have substantial financial repercussions
for the company.
Frank Asbeck: 'Climate protection is a value contribution.'
'SolarWorld AG has strategically committed itself to a sustainable
corporate development. We view climate protection as a value contribution
to society and to us as a company', says Dipl.-Ing. Frank H. Asbeck,
Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG. 'We pursue an integrated approach that
takes the economic, ecological and social factors into consideration on an
equal footing.' For fiscal year 2007 SolarWorld AG even went one step
further by publishing for the first time an integrated and audited Group
Management and Sustainability Report which was prepared in line with the
international standards for sustainable reporting (Global Reporting
Initiative/ GRI). 'Over and above this we as a company from an
industrialized nation have responsibility for a fair social development
also in poorer regions. Under the umbrella Solar2World we pool
not-for-profit projects for the rural electrification with solar power. We
will further sharpen our business profile in the future with our claim of a
high level of environmental and social compatibility lastingly
substantiating the economic success and value of SolarWorld AG at the same
time'.
SolarWorld marketing acclaimed
The value of a fair and sustainable business policy is also reflected in
the marketing of a company. 'The cultivation of customer communications is
as much part of this as the permanent integration of market information.
The objective is to permanently keep product quality and customer
satisfaction at the highest level', says Dipl.-Wirtschaftsingenieur Frank
Henn, Vice President Sales of SolarWorld AG. A joint study by the Chair of
Innovative Brand Management of the University of Bremen and by BBDO
Consulting has paid tribute to this strategy making SolarWorld AG the
Number 3 of the most market-oriented companies in Germany among the 282
publicly quoted companies investigated within the framework of the Best
Practice Marketing Award 2008. In this context business success and the
quality of marketing were assessed together. BBDO explains the awarding:
'SolarWorld convinces with top technology and quality leadership in all
fields of application. The completely integrated solar value chain and the
individual product labels strengthen the market position of the group.'
About SolarWorld AG: The SolarWorld AG group of companies (ISIN:
DE0005108401) is a world leader in high quality solar power technology. The
company is involved at all levels of the solar value chain and combines all
activities of the industry from silicon as the raw material to turn-key
solar power system. SolarWorld AG is represented in all international solar
growth markets. The group is exclusively dedicated to its core business of
photovoltaic power generation, operating production facilities in Germany
and the USA. They in turn supply the SolarWorld AG sales offices in
Germany, Spain, USA, South Africa and Singapore. In South Korea SolarWorld
AG is currently building up a solar module production facility in order to
be able to serve the growing demand in Asia on the spot in the future. A
central element of the business in addition to the sale of turn-key solar
systems and solar modules to retailers is the distribution of solar silicon
wafers to the international solar cell industry. Apart from grid-coupled
(on-grid) products the SolarWorld Group also sells off-grid solar power
solutions that make an important contribution to the sustainable economic
development of threshold and developing countries. Under the name
Solar2World the group has pooled its ethical commitment to solar power
especially in developing countries.
SolarWorld AG employs more than 2,000 people worldwide. At the stock market
the company is listed among others in the technology index TecDAX, in the
ÖkoDAX, in the Dow Jones STOXX 600, in the international MSCI index as well
as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.
Contact:
SolarWorld AG Investor Relations / Marketing Communications,
Tel.-No.: +49 228 55920 -470; Fax-No.: +49 228 55920-9470,
E-mail: placement@solarworld.de
Internet: www.solarworld.de
DGAP 29.04.2008
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Language: English
Issuer: SolarWorld AG
Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 12-14
53113 Bonn
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)228 - 559 20 470
Fax: +49 (0)228 - 559 20 99
E-mail: placement@solarworld.de
Internet: www.solarworld.de
ISIN: DE0005108401
WKN: 510840
Indices: TecDAX
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Düsseldorf;
Freiverkehr in Berlin, München, Hamburg, Stuttgart;
Terminbörse EUREX
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-News: SolarWorld AG receives Awards for Sustainability and Marketing
| Source: EQS Group AG