September 2, 2014

Thomson Reuters Launches Corporate Responsibility Indices to Measure European ESG Performance

NEW YORK/LONDON – Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced the launch of a suite of indices to measure the performance of European companies with superior ratings for Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) practices. The Europe indices are one part of the global family of Thomson Reuters Corporate Responsibility Indices (CRI) that provide a comprehensive, objective and transparent rules-based benchmarking solution for measuring global ESG performance.

The Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices are part of a connected suite of ESG related products and services, which brings together the databases of Thomson Reuters ASSET4, Thomson Reuters Corporate Responsibility Ratings and the Thomson Reuters CRI Indices, all of which are available through Thomson Reuters Eikon. The Thomson Reuters CRI Indices use this network of data, analytics and tools to allow investors to apply filters based on the industry, country and regional focus of a company's operations. The indices remain objective and transparent through a greater emphasis on quantitative outcomes rather than qualitative corporate statements. Additionally, the process does not use negative screening to exclude certain industries, resulting in more precise and diversified benchmarks.

"As responsible ESG investing continues to gain traction around the world, Thomson Reuters remains committed to delivering the most comprehensive and transparent family of indices available today in order to give investors the benchmarks they need to make informed decisions," said Stephan Flagel, head of Indices at Thomson Reuters. "The new Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices, in combination with our wider ESG related services, offer a very powerful proposition for all ESG conscious individuals and institutions."

"The Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices mean that investors are now able to measure the performance of European markets whilst being assured that all included stocks have ESG ratings superior to the weighted average for indices such as the S&P 500 or MSCI EAFE," said Joseph LaCorte, president of S Network Global Indexes which serves as consultant to Thomson Reuters on the development and maintenance of the indices and ratings. "These new indices, coupled with the strength of the ASSET4 database, reinforce Thomson Reuters as a leading provider of ESG data."

Live calculation of the indices began on July 28, 2014. Historical data is available from December 31, 2007. 

The Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Indices:

  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe ESG Index
  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Environmental Index
  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Governance Index
  • Thomson Reuters CRI Europe Social Index

Thomson Reuters ASSET4 provides objective, relevant and in-depth environmental, social and governance data, enabling socially responsible investment analysis. The database contains information on 3,400+ global companies and over 750+ data points including all ethical screening criteria and aspects of sustainability performance.

The Thomson Reuters CRI Indices and Corporate Responsibility Ratings are part of a wider suite of indices available from Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters provides innovative indices and index-related services to the global financial community to help investors make better decisions. Thomson Reuters index clients and partners rely upon the unparalleled breadth, depth, global network and vast data and content sets that Thomson Reuters provides. Backed by the content, data, independence and global information network of Thomson Reuters, our indices and index services are designed to suit any need.

Thomson Reuters

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