Graham Packaging has received its inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Rating from Sustainalytics, where it ranked number one out of 54 others in the plastic, metal and glass packaging industry category.

The company also ranked third in the containers and packaging industry segment and received an overall ranking of 169 out of more than 13,560 global companies who were assessed – landing it in the top 2%.

“We are so incredibly proud of this industry-leading ranking in our first-ever ESG Rating,” says Mike King, chief executive officer, Graham Packaging. “Our rating shows that we are a global leader in taking action to support best practices in governance, social responsibility and environmental stewardship.”

Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings measure a company’s exposure to industry-specific material ESG risks and how well a company is managing those risks. This multi-dimensional way of measuring ESG risk combines the concepts of management and exposure to arrive at an assessment of ESG risk that is comparable across all industries. Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings distinguish between five levels of risk: negligible, low, medium, high and severe, with a lower score equating to a better risk assessment. Graham Packaging’s low-risk rating of 11 was the best of all rated plastic, glass and metal packaging companies.

“Our ESG Risk Rating is a clear sign of our dedication to creating sustainable packaging that minimizes harm to the planet,” explains Tracee Auld, chief sustainability officer, Graham Packaging. “As a packaging company, we understand the important role we play in taking steps necessary to reduce emissions and manage climate risks.”

“Graham has been working tirelessly to position itself as the leading sustainable packaging company in the industry, and this ranking is validation that our time and efforts were well spent,” adds Balaji Jayaseelan, director of sustainability and regulatory affairs, Graham Packaging. “We will build on the great work we have already done while continuing to deliver best-in-class sustainable packaging solutions to our valued customers.”

In addition to its low-ESG-risk rating, Graham Packaging also received high marks for its risk management. Graham’s score of 62.3 reflects how well the company is managing its relevant ESG issues and assesses the robustness of Graham’s sustainability programs, practices and policies.