NORTHBROOK, Illinois, Jan. 19, 2017 – Astellas has been named for the second year one of Corporate Knights’ 2017 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, moving up 10 spots in the index. Corporate Knights announced this year’s honorees at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Corporate Knights assesses data from nearly 5,000 publicly-traded companies with a market capitalization in excess of $US 2 billion, comparing them against their global industry peers on a suite of 14 quantitative key performance indicators (KPIs), to determine the top performing companies within each industry group.

“Among the factors why Astellas improved in this year's ranking is their successful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and energy and water consumption.” said Corporate Knights CEO, Toby A.A. Heaps. “Astellas continues to be a company that takes a best-in-class approach to resource productivity and social responsibility.”

In CDP Climate Change 2015, Astellas was included in the CDP Climate Disclosure Leadership Index in recognition of a perfect disclosure score for climate change information. Astellas employees in various roles across more than 40 countries cooperated to support the data gathering process.

Astellas has consistently been included in Newsweek’s Green Rankings, the FTSE4Good Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index -- some of the most recognized sustainability indexes worldwide.

“Astellas has a long-term focus on sustainable business practices that aligns with our work to improve the health of patients globally through innovation and collaboration.” said Jeff Winton, senior vice president, Corporate Affairs at Astellas Americas. “Pursuing operational excellence by reduction in energy consumption and greater transparency in sharing environmental data demonstrates our commitment to supporting the next generation to live smart.”

In 2016, Astellas US headquarters requalified for EPA’s Energy Star rating, improving its score from 76 to 83. Energy improvements included retrofitting 350 lights to LED models in the parking structure and improved water usage in cooling and heating the building that resulted in energy savings of 420,649 kWh annually. This equates to 205 tons of carbon dioxide emission reduction, the planting of 122 acres of trees and removing 60 cars from the roads.

For information on the Global 100 index's full rankings, please visit: http://www.corporateknights.com/reports/2017-global-100/2017-global-100-results-14846083/.

About Astellas

Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.us. You can also follow us on Twitter at @AstellasUS, Facebook at www.facebook.com/AstellasUS or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/astellas-pharma.