Paris – 30 November 2015– Euronext, the eurozone’s leading exchange, today announced a major change in the methodology used for its Low Carbon 100 Europe Index®, revolutionising the traditional approach to assessing companies’ CO2 emissions. This new method is based on a more efficient means of measuring the energy performance of businesses, and offers investors a unique index-based solution.
In 2008, Euronext was the first exchange to launch a pan-European index focusing on CO2 emissions, designed withinternational experts and in close collaboration with NGOs. The Low Carbon 100 Europe Index® measures the performance of Europe’s 100 largest blue chips with the lowest CO2 emissions in their respective sectors or sub-sectors.
The new version of the index, designed with Carbone 4[1] and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), is based on a more in-depth and relevant assessment of each company’s carbon footprint. This identifies, for the first time, businesses making a positive contribution to the transition process—not only through their own day-to-day performance, but also through the products they sell. Selection of index component companies will also reflect the emissions avoided as a result of their innovative approach to products and services. In parallel, non-carbon intensive players are selected based on their CDP performance score. The CDP performance score assesses the level of action taken on climate change evidenced by the company's CDP response.
Anthony Attia, Chairman and CEO of Euronext Paris, said: “As market operator, Euronext has an important role to play in channeling savings and investment into energy transition. This new methodology confirms our commitment to offering investors an increasingly relevant standard for portfolio management, and an underlying asset suitable for different index-linked products.”
Pascal Canfin, who chairs the Expert Committee of the Low Carbon 100 Europe Index®, said: “The financial sector needs new compasses to guide its course and shift the focus to investments that comply with the 2° target for global warming. This new index is the first in the world designed to reflect an arc of investments that do just that.”
Frédéric Janbon, CEO, BNP Paribas Investment Partners, said: “In keeping with our ground-breaking role in SRI, BNP Paribas Investment Partners teamed up with Euronext to launch the first low carbon trackerin 2008, in the run-up to COP15 in Copenhagen. Today, as the COP21 Climate Change conference opens in Paris, we are particularly pleased to see changes to the index that will allow our clients, both institutional and retail, to continue to benefit from research and innovation in an area that is shaping our future.”
Low Carbon 100 Europe Index® component stocks
[1] Carbone 4 is the leading consulting firm specialised in carbon strategy
About CDP Europe
CDP is an international, not-for-profit organization providing the only global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information. CDP works with market forces, including 822 institutional investors with assets of over €86 trillion, to motivate companies to disclose their impacts on the environment and natural resources and take action to reduce them. More than 5,500 companies worldwide, of which nearly 1,800 in Europe, disclosed environmental information through CDP in 2015. CDP now holds the largest collection globally of primary climate change, water and forest risk commodities information and puts these insights at the heart of strategic business, investment and policy decisions. Please visit www.cdp.net/europe or follow us @CDP to find out more.