Biogen Idec wins sustainable business accolade

UK-based pharmaceutical firm Biogen Idec has come out top in a report designed to discover which of the world's businesses are the most sustainable.

Pharma Times reports that Toronto-based Corporate Knights has published its latest Global 100 Index, which takes into account the operations of more than 4,600 businesses.

The Canadian firm measured sustainability against a number of factors, including time lost due to workplace injury, revenue generated in correlation with the units of energy used and the difference in the ratio of the pay of regular workers in comparison to chief executives.

Close behind Biogen in terms of sustainability was Allergan – which is currently in the process of being acquired by Actavis – while Novo Nordisk and Johnson & Johnson also featured high on the list, taking 13th and 18th place respectively.

Last year, Biogen took second place, with the company's chief executive George Scangos telling Corporate Knights at the time: "What we need to do is take a look at where we are and see how can we do sustainability better than that five years from now and five years after that. We're on track to do that."