Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Today the new composition of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index has been announced.

SAM today announced the results of the annual review for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). Effective with the opening of equity markets on September 20, 2004 the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index will again include over 300 companies from 24 countries that lead their industries in terms of corporate sustainability. The pan-European sustainability benchmark – the Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index – will include 167 companies from 13 countries. Both indexes will continue to closely mirror the sector distribution of the corresponding mainstream equity benchmarks.

The annual review of the DJSI family is based on a thorough assessment of companies’ economic, environmental and social performance and accounts for more than 50 general as well as industry specific criteria in each sector. Its results will influence the investment decisions of asset managers in 14 countries who have licensed the DJSI family as objective benchmarks and underlying for a variety of sustainability-driven portfolios. In total, these licensees currently manage close to 3 billion EUR in DJSI-based funds, structured products, segregated accounts as well as an exchange traded fund that is listed on Euronext.

Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes track the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. Based on the cooperation of Dow Jones Indexes, STOXX Limited and SAM Group the indexes provide asset managers with reliable and objective benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios. The Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes DJSI World) cover the top 10% of the biggest 2,500 companies in the Dow Jones World Index in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. As a benchmark for European sustainability investments, the Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Indexes (DJSI STOXX) cover the leading 20% in terms of sustainability of the companies in the Dow Jones STOXXSM 600 Index. The Dow Jones EURO STOXX Sustainability Index (DJSI EURO STOXX) is the Eurozone subset of the DJSI STOXX and, thus, tracks the financial performance of sustainability leaders in this particular region. The selection of index components follows a rules-based process defined in the DJSI Guidebooks. It is based on a thorough assessment of general and industryspecific sustainability criteria. The analysis is verified by an external auditor. Full details about the design philosophy, review methodology and index components are freely available at www.sustainability-indexes.com.