Mondo Visione Worldwide Financial Markets Intelligence

FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index:

More Companies Join FTSE4Good Index Series

Date 13/09/2004

Results of the latest FTSE4Good index review are released today by global index provider, FTSE Group. A total of 79 new companies worldwide have met the SRI index criteria and will be added to the index series at close of business on Friday 17 September. 23 companies will be deleted from the index on the same day as they no longer meet these criteria.

45 companies from Japan have joined the index at this review. This is the highest number of companies from a single country to enter the index at this review. A breakdown of additions by country is given here:

Country No Companies Added Country No Companies Added
       
Australia 1 Singapore 1
Canada 1 Sweden 1
France 2 Switzerland 1
Germany 1 UK 17
Japan 45 USA 6
Luxemburg 1    
Netherlands 1    
New Zealand 1 Total 79

A breakdown of deletions by country is given here:

Country No Companies Deleted Country No Companies Deleted
       
Canada 3 United Kingdom 12
Italy 2 United States 2
Japan 1 Base Universe deletions 3
       
    Total 23

Worldwide, 899 companies now belong to the prestigious SRI index series.

Mark Makepeace, Chief Executive, FTSE Group said, “The FTSE4Good series is established as a barometer for CSR practice by companies all over the world. The methodology, which uniquely includes ongoing criteria evolution, ensures that the series always reflects current CSR standards. Because of this, it acts as a benchmark of CSR good practice for listed companies, as well as an investment tool for the growing number of organisations which offer socially responsible investment products.”

At the review meeting, the Policy Committee reviewed a progress report on the development of criteria for supply chain labour standards. More information on FTSE’s approach and an implementation timetable will be announced in due course.

Since the last review of the FTSE4Good series in March 2004, the Committee lifted its exclusion on companies which market infant formula and replaced it with measurable criteria. This means that more companies have become newly eligible for inclusion in the index series. The Committee decided that no one company yet fulfils all the criteria developed for this sector, but was encouraged by the positive response to date from a number of affected companies.