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NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced that for the second consecutive year it has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Carbon Disclosure Project’s S&P 500 Leadership Index. In addition, the company’s scores for both indexes improved year-over-year, reflecting NYSE Euronext’s growing focus on corporate responsibility.
“These are two very important achievements for NYSE Euronext because they validate our core approach: running our business with the highest respect for the environment and for standards of transparency, citizenship and ethical practice,” said CEO Duncan L. Niederauer. “My colleagues and I take these recognitions as a key measure of how well we perform our role in the global community we serve, and we will continue to aspire to do even more. As a global leader in the financial markets and technology space, we have a special obligation in the area of corporate responsibility.” Niederauer added that inclusion in the two indexes illustrates both the environmental and broader aspects of this commitment.
NYSE Euronext scored an 89 in the 2011 Carbon Disclosure Project’s S&P 500 Leadership Index, compared with a score of 80 in 2010. NYSE Euronext is one of just 55 companies from the S&P 500 named to the 2011 Leadership Index, and is ranked in a tie for third place among the 11 companies in the financial sector in the index. The Leadership Index highlights companies in the S&P 500® that “have displayed the most professional approach to corporate governance regarding climate change information disclosure practices. Companies are scored on their climate change disclosure and high scores indicate good internal data management and understanding of climate change related issues affecting the company,” according to the Carbon Disclosure Project, which sponsors the index and is an independent, not-for-profit organization representing 551 institutional investors with $71 trillion under management.
In the 2011 Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, NYSE Euronext’s overall score rose to 51 from 47 last year. Among individual areas, NYSE Euronext’s score for Environmental Footprint rose to 17 from 1; Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy, to 28 from 16; Standards for Suppliers, to 60 from 40; and Environmental Policy/Management System, to 54 from 42. The company’s 2011 overall score is 11 points higher than the average score in the Sustainability Indexes’ financial-services sector. Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes are the first global indexes tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. Based on the cooperation of Dow Jones Indexes and SAM they provide asset managers with reliable and objective benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios.
