Sustainalytics rates Lekela in the top 1% of ESG-rated companies globally
24 November 2021, London – Sustainalytics, a Morningstar Company, and a leading ESG research, ratings and data firm, has rated Lekela as one of the highest performing companies globally under its ESG Risk Rating assessment process. The scoring system also rated Lekela as one of the top performers in both the energy and utilities sector, and the renewable energy sub-sector.
Sustainalytics assesses companies by looking at ESG issues considered to be material for their operations. It then assesses how effectively the Company is managing these issues.
As of November 2021, Lekela received an ESG Risk Rating of 8.3 from Sustainalytics and was assessed to be at Negligible risk of experiencing material financial impacts from ESG factors. Out of over 14,500 companies assessed globally to date, Lekela was ranked 61st overall. It also ranked second among the 655 companies assessed in the utilities sector, and second among the renewable energy firms assessed to date. The results place Lekela in the first percentile in the utilities industry and second percentile in the renewable power sub-industry.
In particular, the Sustainalytics assessment noted Lekela’s strong management of land use and biodiversity issues, business ethics, occupational health and safety, and community relations.
Commenting on the assessment, Jennifer Boca, Head of ESG at Lekela, said: “At Lekela we take pride in building our business on strong foundations of sustainability. Our rating at Sustainalytics is an indication of everything we do on the ground and in our operations. This is about not only assisting our risk management processes but helping us deliver the best outcomes for our stakeholders, including impactful change in communities. We look forward to continuing this progress and working with our partners to drive sustainability forwards across our industry, wider business and society, and the environment.”
Lucy Heintz, Partner and Head of Energy at Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, and Chairperson of Lekela Power said: “We are extremely proud of Actis’ portfolio company, Lekela, and what they’ve achieved. This rating is a ringing endorsement of their position as a global leader in sustainability and recognises the team’s dedication and hard work to get there. It is also testament to Actis’ leadership, vision and oversight and another example of our proven track record in successfully creating long-term, sustainable value in businesses in which we invest.”
Lekela’s ESG strategy was created at the inception of the company in 2015 and has been continually developed to recognise emerging sustainability best-practice. It prioritises continuous engagement and transparency with the communities where it operates across Africa, aiming to show the shared environmental and social value that renewable power projects can deliver across their lifespan.
For every wind farm project that Lekela invests in, it designs a bespoke community investment strategy. This focuses on environmental, education and enterprise initiatives in the communities surrounding the wind farm, creating long-term impact over the 20 years or more that Lekela intends to operate in the area.
This press release contains information developed by Sustainalytics (www.sustainalytics.com). Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at https://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers.