Umicore VMZINC has been ranked fifth in the 2011 top 100 of the world’s most sustainable companies by Corporate Knights, an independent magazine focused on promoting sustainable development.

The seventh edition of the Global 100 includes companies from 22 countries encompassing all sectors, with collective annual sales in excess of $3billion, and five million employees.

The ranking is based on ten key performance indicators, including capacity to innovate, senior management remuneration, diversity and productivity related to a set of environmental factors.

The Umicore Group has industrial operations on all continents, generated a turnover of €6.9billion in 2009 and currently employs around 14,300 people.