STMicroelectronics Ranked as the World's Leading Semiconductor Company for Sustainability.

GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1999--

Dow Jones Sustainability Group Indexes ranks ST

in top two companies in the world for sustainability

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) has been ranked as the world's leading semiconductor company and one of the top two sustainability-driven companies in the world for integration of sustainability into a comprehensive Total Quality Management System by the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Indexes (DJSGI) in an announcement made by the DJSGI earlier this month.

Starting from the Dow Jones Global Index (DJGI) of nearly 3000 companies in 33 countries, the DJSGI initially selected 2000 companies with the largest worldwide market capitalizations and then selected the top 10% of leading sustainability companies across 68 industries. At the end of this exhaustive evaluation process, ST was ranked in the top two companies in the world, based on the sustainability performance in its industry.

The DJSGI is a family of global equities indexes that track the performance of 225 leading sustainability-driven companies in 68 industry groups in 22 countries. The DJSGI defines sustainability-driven companies as those that achieve their business goals by integrating economic, environmental and social growth opportunities into their business strategies through pro-active, cost-effective and responsible management.

Reto Ringger, CEO of the SAM Sustainability Group, said: "We are very pleased to announce STMicroelectronics as the world's leading performer in the semiconductor industry, in terms of integration of sustainability. This new achievement follows ST's many other world firsts in management, including the first semiconductor company to achieve EMAS verification and obtain ISO14001 certification in the US."

Commenting on the news, Alain Dutheil, ST Corporate Vice President for Strategic Planning and Human Resources, said: "Inclusion in the DJGSI with such an important ranking rewards all of ST's employees efforts to make ST a pioneer in environmental protection and sustainability. I am happy to see that the Total Quality and Environmental Management (TQEM) culture has provided ST with one more leadership position within the semiconductor industry."

STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics (formerly SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics) is a global independent semiconductor company, whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on the Bourse de Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. The Company designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) and discrete devices used in a wide variety of microelectronics applications, including telecommunications systems, computer systems, consumer products, automotive products and industrial automation and control systems. For the year 1998, the company had revenues of $4.25 billion and net earnings of $411.1 million. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com

Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index

Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index GmbH is a joint venture between SAM Sustainability Group (former Sustainable Asset Management, SAM) and Dow Jones & Indexes. The DJSGI World Index has a market capitalization of approximately 4.3 trillion USD and, in the five years from 1994 to 1998, has performed at a rate of 126% compared to 89% by the DJGI World Index.

SAM Sustainability Group

SAM Sustainability Group is an independent, Zurich-based company focused on integrating corporate sustainability in financial services. It is a pioneer in corporate sustainability assessment and advises private and institutional investors on sustainability-driven investments. SAM Sustainability Group provides three services: research based on its unique Corporate Sustainability assessment and the sophisticated SAM Sustainability Rating TM, asset management with institutional and private mandates and private equity for investments in younger companies with potential for outstanding financial performance and whose technologies are critical for the long-term profitability of mainstream companies.

Dow Jones & Company

Dow Jones & Company is a premier global provider of investable indexes, including the Dow Jones Averages, The Dow Jones Global Indexes, the pan-European Dow Jones STOXX indexes, the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index, the Dow Jones Internet Indexes, The Dow Jones Islamic Market Index and The Dow Jones Global Titans Index. In addition to Dow Jones Indexes, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ) publishes The Wall Street Journal and its international and interactive editions, Barron's and SmartMoney magazines and other periodicals. Dow Jones Company is co-owner of Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive LLC and of the CNBC television operations in Asia and Europe and also provides news content to CNBC in the United States.