Royal DSM N.V. is today presenting its fifth annual sustainability report: the Triple P (People, Planet, Profit) Report 2007 entitled Embracing the Future.

DSM’s sustainability strategy is based on three core values: Respect for People, Valuable Partnerships and Good Corporate Citizenship. The strategy is focused on four global trends which DSM has identified as being of particular significance to both the company and society at large. These are Climate and Energy, Health and Well-being, Functionality and Performance, and Emerging Economies.

The way in which DSM is responding and contributing to these four global trends reveals a clear development in the company’s sustainability policy: while meeting ever more stringent regulatory requirements and ever higher societal expectations, DSM is striving to meet current and future unmet needs with innovative solutions. Entering new markets and developing new business models – for instance, the Base of the Pyramid – are one component of this thrust.

Another is the ongoing improvement of the company’s eco-footprint and the effective management of its entire value chain, from research and development through sourcing and production to marketing and sales. In 2007 43% of DSM’s total external spend was covered by Supplier Code of Conduct agreements in which suppliers commit themselves to the DSM Values. The long-term target is to have all of DSM’s supplier base operate under the Supplier Code of Conduct.

Another important element of DSM’s sustainability strategy is the development of innovative new products in response to climate change. Recent examples are the development of weight-saving performance materials for the automotive industry and the development of the process enzyme Brewers Clarex™, a beer stabilizer that prevents chill haze. A life cycle analysis carried out for this product in 2007 showed that if all beer consumed in the Netherlands during 2006 had been produced using Brewers Clarex™, the CO2 footprint of 50 million car-kilometers would have been avoided in terms of CO2 equivalent.

In 2007, DSM entered into a partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), to help fight malnutrition and hunger. DSM provides technical and scientific expertise and high-nutrient products to improve the WFP food basket through the addition of essential micronutrients. By improving their nutrition, the partnership will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.

The acceleration of DSM’s strategy Vision 2010 – Building on Strengths, as announced in September 2007, is taking DSM into a wider range of globally distributed markets than ever before. This calls for a more diverse employee base. DSM therefore embarked on an active policy in 2007 to increase the diversity of its workforce in terms of both nationality and gender.

In its Triple P Report 2007 DSM also reports in detail about a large number of indicators in the fields of safety, health, the environment, human resources policy and economics. In most cases DSM once again managed to achieve improvements in these fields. For example, compared to 2005, the number of recordable accidents has decreased by 14% and DSM’s energy efficiency has improved by 4%. Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced in 2007, and the discharge of oxidizable organic substances to waste water was more than halved.