Press release content from PR Newswire. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.
New Zealand’s Exchange and S&P Dow Jones Indices launch carbon-efficient indices
May 2, 2021 GMT
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ New Zealand’s Exchange (“NZX”) today launched New Zealand’s first carbon efficient indices in partnership with the world’s leading index provider, S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”), amid rapidly growing investor interest, and action globally to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change.
New Zealand’s first ‘carbon light’ index
Aligned with best global practice, the two new indices, S&P/NZX 50 Carbon Efficient Index and S&P/NZX 50 Portfolio Carbon Efficient Index, utilise Trucost’s environmental dataset to weigh companies listed on the NZX according to their carbon intensity and sector impact. The key objective behind the indices is to incentivise New Zealand companies to compare their carbon intensity to their
Growing demand for environment-related investments is driving popularity of sustainability index investing in Japan, according to Aye Soe, managing director and global head of product management at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
According to figures from fund consultancy Morningstar, total assets of Japan-domiciled sustainable themed funds grew more than three-fold over the last two years. As of December 2020, assets of these funds stood at US$17.7 billion, up from $5 billion in 2019.
“Based on clients’ interest, we see two major investment themes – environmental, social and governance [ESG] and thematics,” Soe says in an interview with
Asia Asset Management.
She says Japanese investors favour both generic ESG index solutions, as well as benchmarks that are focused specifically on climate and sustainability. She says they are particularly keen on the E component of ESG.
Feb 8, 2021
A Japanese public pension fund that manages its portfolio in line with the world’s largest pension manager has boosted investments in ESG-related stocks by more than sixfold in its $62 billion (¥6.5 trillion) domestic equity portfolio.
The Pension Fund Association for Local Government Officials, known as Chikyoren, has increased its exposure to environment, social and governance themes to about ¥820 billion ($7.8 billion), representing 13% of its Japanese equities portfolio, said Shigemune Sato, director-general of the fund management department of the public fund. That compares with about ¥130 billion in March last year.
“Taking account of performance over the recent years, stocks with high ESG evaluations have tended to have better performance,” Sato said in an interview. Increasing investments in ESG will help the fund “secure stable returns over a long period of time,” he said.
To download all the images at once, please download it from your PC. Konica Minolta Listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, a Leading Global Index for ESG Investment, for Nine Consecutive Years
Staying on the DJSI Asia Pacific Index for 12 Consecutive Years
Close Tokyo (December 23, 2020) – Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World), one of the most prestigious global indices of ESG investment, for nine years in a row. Konica Minolta has also been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific) for 12 consecutive years.