RI Sustainable Indices, Dec. 7: Mining firm dropped from OMX GES sustainability indices

Talvivaara Mining Co., the Finnish-based nickel mining firm that is listed in London and Helsinki, has been dropped from all the OMX GES Sustainability Indexes run by exchange operator NASDAQ OMX and sustainability researcher GES. It has been dropped due to recent developments relating to a leaking tailings dam in Finland. In addition, Pöyry, the global consulting and engineering firm, has also been delisted, in part because of its association with a controversial dam in Laos.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index finished November up 0.37%, according to data compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index measures the performance of 100 of the world’s leading Sharia-compliant stocks. The Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the world’s 50 largest companies, posted a November gain of 0.07%.
The Dow Jones Islamic Market Sustainability Index, which measures sustainable practice business of companies compliant with Sharia laws, rose 1.23% in November while the conventional Dow Jones Sustainability Index gained 1.20%.

The ACT Australian CleanTech Index fell in November 2012, underperforming both the S&P ASX200 Index and the S&P Small Ordinaries Index. The index fell from 32.8 to 31.7 over the month of November recording a 3.4% loss. This compared to the S&P ASX200 loss of 0.2% and the S&P ASX Small Ordinaries Index loss of 2.5%. The Australian CleanTech 20 recorded an even worse result with a 3.6% loss for the month. Link

FTSE and the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) have launched the FTSE ASEA Pan Africa Index Series which covers 19 African countries. It’s hoped it will become an attractive investible index that can be used as a performance benchmark for international investors.Brazilian exchange BM&FBOVESPA has announced the new composition of the ISE Corporate Sustainability Index. The new portfolio is composed of 51 stocks of 37 companies – with a combined market capitalization of BRL1.07trn (€399bn), or 44.8% of the exchange’s market capital combined. For the first time the selection process was audited by KPMG.

This year’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) SRI Index review has found that that 76 out of 108 South African companies assessed by research firm EIRIS for the JSE meet the sustainability criteria for inclusion in the index. Now in its ninth year, the index is based on sustainability criteria developed by the JSE and EIRIS. The review found “continuous improvements” in companies’ commitments to social, governance, climate change and environmental issues. And the largest companies listed on the JSE demonstrated the strongest sustainability performance with over 90% of them meeting requirements for inclusion on the JSE SRI Index.

The China CleanTech Index, published by Australian CleanTech, tracks the performance of 150 Chinese cleantech companies. In October, the index fell slightly but outperformed all of its four benchmark indices. The best performing sub-index for the month was the China Hydro Index with a 1.4% gain, the weakest sub-index was the China Waste Index which recorded a 2.5% loss. The China Solar Index gained 0.5%.

Risk analysis firm Maplecroft’s new Growth Markets Index (GMI), which evaluates the economic performance, stability and potential of 175 countries, has identified 30 markets that have the best growth prospects for business over the next two decades. China and India significantly outscore all other countries, including fellow BRICs, Brazil (6th) and Russia (11th). Maplecroft divides its scoring across the three categories of Growth Performance, Growth Environment Conduciveness and Growth Potential. Link