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S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P Dow Jones Indices, the index provider whose indices are used by exchange-traded funds and the wider investment sector to compare performance, has added new lines to its global environmental, social and governance index family. The rollout comes amid continued enthusiasm for ESG investing, as chronicled by this news service.

The new set of indices provide performance profiles in line with several headline indices, including the S&P Global 1200, Europe 350, S&P/ASX 200 and S&P Japan 500, and the S&P Dow Jones Indices. A total of 22 regional and country ESG indices are part of this global launch.

The new indices also include ESG versions of S&P DJI’s country and regional large and mid-cap benchmarks covering the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. 

The global ESG indices follow eligibility criteria based on companies’ ESG Scores, business activities and the UN Global Compact. The benchmarks exclude companies that produce tobacco, have tobacco sales and tobacco-related products and services which are greater than 10 per cent of their revenues. The indices also exclude companies involved in controversial weapons, either directly or via an ownership stake of 25 per cent or more of another company involved in these weapons. 

Companies not aligned with the UNGC and which have poor UNGC scores are not included, as well as those with S&P DJI ESG scores in the bottom 25 per cent of companies globally within their Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) groups.