Analytics company Qontigo and ISS ESG, the sustainable investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc (ISS), have partnered to release a biodiversity index suite.
The ISS STOXX Biodiversity Index Suite is designed to align client portfolios with biodiversity impact reduction goals.
All indices in the suite exclude companies involved in activities assessed to be causing significant harm to biodiversity or reducing the biodiversity footprint. It also provides a positive screening for companies with low negative impact on biodiversity and those companies actively enabling the planet’s biodiversity – in line with COP15 goals.
In addition, it enhances alignment with biodiversity-oriented UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The suite includes a Biodiversity Leaders family which consists solely of companies deriving at least 20 percent of their revenues from activities that are deemed to make a positive net contribution to the SDGs. These activities include preservation of marine ecosystems and sustainable agriculture and forestry.
Axel Lomholt, chief product officer for indices and benchmarks at STOXX, says: “Biodiversity is one of the paramount themes of our age and calls for investors to understand and address its associated risks in their investment portfolios.
“This launch comes as global investors are urged by some to account for and price nature into their sustainable investment strategies, and we are confident that the unique combination of our high-quality STOXX index suite, together with ISS ESG’s rigorous data sets, will prove valuable in enabling investors to align with their biodiversity objectives.”
Lorraine Kelly, global head of investment stewardship at ISS, comments: “Investor focus on managing biodiversity impact has the potential to become as significant and enduring as the current focus on climate change.
“The ISS STOXX Biodiversity Index Suite is the latest example of ISS ESG powering highly-differentiated index offerings and we are delighted to partner with Qontigo in this series.”
