Thomson Reuters and S-Network Introduce ESG Best Practices Ratings & Indices

Rebranding and methodology changes to existing indices reflect market evolution and growth of ESG investing strategies
New York, July 20, 2017: Responding to changes in the way Thomson Reuters collects ESG data and the growth of socially responsible investing (SRI), Thomson Reuters in partnership with global indices provider S-Network has announced changes to the methodology for the Thomson Reuters Corporate Responsibility Ratings and Indexes, which effective immediately have been rebranded Thomson Reuters/S-Network ESG Best Practices Ratings & Indices.

The indexes and ratings are compiled by S-Network using extensive Thomson Reuters ESG data sets.

The updated and enhanced ratings, used to calculate the indexes, reflect enhancements that expand the coverage of Thomson Reuters ESG Data underlying the indices. In addition, certain data points are no longer being collected and have therefore been eliminated from inclusion in the ratings. The new ratings system will continue to emphasize metric data, such as CO2 emissions, over policy-oriented questions. In line with the ratings changes, the ratings and indices will be rebranded to better reflect their underlying theme.

“ESG factors are becoming an increasingly common contribution to index design as today’s asset management industry responds to investor interest in impact investing,” said Stephan Flagel, global head of Benchmarks & Indices, Thomson Reuters. “In collaboration with S-Network, this enhancement of our methodology empowers investment professionals with a robust solution to help meet their ESG and SRI needs.”

“The movement toward socially responsible investing seems to be taking hold as many companies have fallen into line behind key ESG standards to the point that those standards have become largely irrelevant in scoring ESG compliance,” said Joseph LaCorte, CEO, S-Network. “‘ESG Best Practices’ is a better descriptor because our ratings do not make value judgments on different industries. The ratings and indices are designed to monitor companies’ compliance with internationally accepted norms as defined by the United Nations Principles on Responsible Investing and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board."

More on Thomson Reuters ESG/SRI capabilities can be found here. Information on other Thomson Reuters indices is available here.

S-Network Global Indexes, Inc. is a publisher and developer of proprietary and custom indexes. Founded in 1997, S-Network publishes over 200 indexes, which serve as the underlying portfolios for financial products with over USD 7 billion in assets under management. S-Network indexes, which are supported by a state-of-the-art technology platform, are known for their transparency and efficiency.