ESG factors now a standard
The area of sustainable investment has changed dramatically with consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors now seen as standard for most large institutional investors, according to FTSE Russell.
FTSE Russell said this had led to their ESG benchmark criteria to grow from three themes to 15, and that the number of indicators assessed had grown from around 40 to 300 data points today.
FTSE Russell's chief executive, Mark Makepeace said: "When we launched the FTSE4Good Index Series 15 years ago there was scepticism that this was a serious area for professional investors".
"Since then, the world and the investment landscape changed beyond recognition and sustainable investing, climate risk, the transition to a low carbon economy, and ESG integration are now a core focus for our clients across asset owners, asset managers, consultants and banks," he said.
The firm celebrated their 15th anniversary of its ESG index series, FTSE4Good, on Tuesday with the launch of two ESG new indices, FTSE4Good Emerging Markets Index and FTSE4Good Emerging Latin America Index.
FTSE4Good aims at providing investors with a transparent and objective benchmark for ESG investing.
The company also released its new ESG ratings data model, which provided underlying ESG data on more than 4,100 companies and covered over 300 indicators.
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