Cipla, Godrej recognised in Fortune Change the World list

New York : India's pharmaceutical giant Cipla and consumer goods conglomerate Godrej have been recognised by Fortune magazine in a list of global firms changing the world for the good and having a positive social impact through their activities.

Cipla is ranked 46th in the list of 50 followed by Godrej on the 48th spot, the only Indian companies in the list.

The Fortune 2016 'Change the World' list recognises companies that have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy.

The list has been topped by British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline and includes Swiss food products major Nestle (5), India-born Ajay Banga-led Mastercard (7), US retail giant Walmart (15), China's ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing (30), India-born Indra Nooyi-led PepsiCo (38), Dutch beverages giant Heineken (43) and American motor company Tesla (50).

Fortune lauded Cipla for "driving prices down for much-needed medications."

"Cipla has made affordability and global accessibility to medicines the cornerstone of its business plan, reflecting the company's vision (of) 'None shall be denied'," it said.

It added that Cipla has by far the world's widest range of antiretroviral (ARV) products approved by Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organisation for treating both children and adults suffering from HIV/AIDS, and also offers free ARV technology to all African countries wanting to produce their own drugs.

On Cipla's horizon is low-cost pills to fight cancer.

The company is investing in a drive to create "biosimilar" versions of certain pricey oncology drugs.

"Expect heated intellectual-property debates and cheaper medicines," it said.

On Godrej, Fortune said the company is "marketing a simple way to vanquish an insect enemy."

Since 2010, the company has "flooded the market with eco-friendly products, taken giant strides in a carbon neutral, zero waste, and a renewable energy effort, and imparted skills training to more than 200,000 youth from marginalised communities in 142 cities," Fortune said.

It added that Godrej's most important innovation may be its "fast card," an inexpensive mosquito-repelling device from the conglomerate's Godrej Consumer Products unit.

Fortune said more businesses are taking on society's biggest problems and making money doing so.

It assessed the companies on parameters of measurable social impact, business results and degree of innovation.