We’re proud to announce that, for the second consecutive year, Nielsen has been selected as both a component of the FTSE4Good Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) North America Index, as well as the DJSI World Index for the first time in 2018.
Both indices are designed to identify leading companies based on their performance against relevant, globally recognized environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. Companies are evaluated alongside their peers on criteria related to practices, policies and progress on key areas that create value for their business and broader world. Both indices reflect a growing trend in investor interest in companies that are high-performing in terms of sustainable business management.
“We’re excited to again be included as part of both the FTSE4Good and DJSI North America and World indices,” said Crystal Barnes, SVP, Global Responsibility & Sustainability, Nielsen. “This is a result of ongoing collaboration across many teams and our commitment to continually improving our ESG performance across all aspects of our business. We view these priorities as a key to creating value within and beyond Nielsen, as well as for our various stakeholder groups.”
Our Global Responsibility & Sustainability strategy includes all ESG issues that affect our business, operations, and all internal and external stakeholders, with a focus on continuous improvement to unlock new and expanded value across Nielsen. Our inclusion for the second time in both the FTSE4Good and DJSI North America and World indices reflects our focus on providing increased, ongoing transparency about our ESG efforts, such as through our recently updated Nielsen Global Responsibility Report.
Public transparency in this space is key to enabling third-party reviewers to assess companies’ performance. According to the G&A Institute, 82% of S&P 500 companies released sustainability reports in 2016, a dramatic increase from just 20% of companies in 2011. In our June 2018 Global Responsibility Report, we shared our performance and progress on our long term ESG-focused initiatives that drive continuous value and improvement for our business and stakeholders. The report covers 2016 and 2017 and contains our forward-looking strategy and goals as a company. It also clearly outlines how Nielsen’s ESG efforts connect to our most critical business issues, including diversity representation and inclusion, and data privacy, security and integrity.
The FTSE4Good Index Series, managed by FTSE Russell, is a group of sustainable benchmarks established in 2001. The index was created to highlight companies with strong corporate ESG performance and disclosure, enabling investors to benchmark their investment performance and create investment funds. Launched in 1999, the DJSI were the first global set of indices tracking the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. The DJSI are maintained collaboratively by S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) and RobecoSAM, an investment specialist focused exclusively on Sustainability Investing.
