The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ), parent of the world's first electronic stock market and a leading index provider, and CRD Analytics announced today the results of the semi-annual re-ranking of the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index (Nasdaq:QCRD), which will become effective prior to market open on Monday, November 19, 2012.
The following seven securities will be added to the Index: ABB Ltd (NYSE:ABB), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), Petróleo Brasileiro S.A.-Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT).
The NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index is an equally weighted equity index that serves as a benchmark for stocks of companies that are taking a leadership role in sustainability performance reporting and are traded on a major US stock exchange. The Index is made up of companies that have taken a leadership role in disclosing their carbon footprint, energy usage, water consumption, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, employee safety, workforce diversity, management composition and community investing. These are companies that are voluntarily disclosing their current environmental, social and governance risks as well as their revenue opportunities and how it will affect future performance. Qualifying companies are reporting using the Global Reporting Initiative G3/G4 Guidelines. The securities must also meet other eligibility criteria which include minimum requirements for market value, average daily share volume, and price. The Index is evaluated on a semi-annual basis in May and November. For more information about the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index, including detailed eligibility criteria, visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/.
As a result of the re-ranking, the following seven securities will be removed from the Index: Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), The Bank Of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS), Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT), Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI), Portugal Telecom, SGPS, S.A. (NYSE:PT), Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) and Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF).