CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—For the third straight year, Essilor has made it on to Forbes magazine's list of the World's Most Innovative Companies. This year, the lens maker rose five places on Forbes’ list, climbing from 28th place in 2012 to 23rd place. The list consists of companies recognized for highlighting innovation as a key driver for their success, both today and in the future. Essilor ranks as the fifth most innovative company in Europe, and the second most innovative in France, according to the magazine.

Essilor currently invests around €150 million per year in research and development. The company operates three Innovation and Technology Centers and employs some 500 researchers throughout the world who dedicated to developing solutions for the 4.2 billion people who need vision correction.

Products launched over the last three years account for approximately 40 percent of Essilor’s annual sales, the company said.

Among Essilor’s recent product innovations are Crizal Prevencia, a lens that protects the eye against the harmful effects of blue light and minimizes the risks of AMD (age-related macular degeneration); Crizal UV, the a corrective lens which provides the eye with effective protection against reflected and transmitted UV light; the Varilux S progressive lens series, and Optifog, a high-performance anti-fog lens.

In a separate development, Essilor of America has been listed on this year’s InformationWeek 500, a list of the top technology innovators in the U.S. Essilor is being recognized for its Lab Management System (LMS), Optuitive, for the ophthalmic lens laboratory industry.

This is the first time Essilor has been named to the list. The full list can be found at www.informationweek.com/500.