The annual Dow Jones Sustainability Indices review results were released on September 13, 2018 and a total of 11 Indian companies from different industries were selected for the DJSI World and Emerging Markets Index in 2018, demonstrating how Indian firms efforts in the field of corporate sustainability have gradually been increasing.

Initially launched in 1999, the DJSI is a global index tracking leading sustainability-driven companies based on sustainability investing company RobecoSAM’s analysis of financially material environmental, social, and governance factors and S&P Dow Jones Indices’ methodology     

According to an article from Mr. Santhosh Jayaram, KPMG in India’s Partner & Head of Sustainability Services written on LinkedIn: 

“Going through the DJSI Emerging Market Index and the Indian companies in the list, the following came to my notice.

Only 2 companies in the DJSI Emerging Market Index from Industry group from 11 selected DJSI companies-Automobiles and components and both are from India, Mahindra and Tata Motors. 

Only 2 companies in the DJSI Emerging Market Index from Industry group – Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Life Sciences, and both are from India. Dr. Reddy’s and Glenmark.

Only 3 companies in the DJSI Emerging Market Index from Industry group - Software and Services and all are from India. Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Wipro. 

That makes 7 out of 10, Rest 3, one from banking (Yes Bank), one from diversified financials (Mahindra Finance) and Tata Steel on Materials.”

Moreover Mr. Jayaram pointed out that out of 24 Industry Groups, Indian firms performance on this year have leadership in three groups, presence in another three groups, and they are missing presence on the remaining eighteen groups.

Larsen and Toubro (Capital Goods) and ITC (FMCG), were included as part of the top 5 largest deletions, and Tata Steel is also the only India-based company to emerge as a winner among all 60 sectors evaluated for DJSI 2018. This is the second year in last three years that Tata Steel has been adjudged the Industry Leader amongst 24 Steel Companies globally. 

According to T.V. Narendran, CEO and MD, Tata Steel, it is a result of Tata Steel efforts towards sustainability and pursuit for a better tomorrow. By its very nature, the steel sector is one of the most challenging businesses from the perspective of sustainability, so they consider sustainability as vital for the future of the industry and Tata Steel.

Tata Steel maintains its membership in the DJSI Emerging Markets Index. Hence, Tata Steel will also retain its Gold Class Rating in the DJSI Sustainability Yearbook, which will be released in January 2019 and targets investors. 
 

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ABOUT RobecoSAM 
Founded in 1995, RobecoSAM is an investment specialist focused exclusively on Sustainability Investing. It offers asset management, indices, impact analysis and investing, sustainability assessments, and benchmarking services. The company's asset management capabilities cater to institutional asset owners and financial intermediaries and cover a range of ESG-integrated investments, featuring a strong track record in resource efficiency-themed strategies. Together with S&P Dow Jones Indices, RobecoSAM publishes the globally recognized Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) as well as the S&P ESG Factor Weighted Index series, the first index family to treat ESG as a standalone performance factor using the RobecoSAM Smart ESG methodology. Based on its Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), an annual ESG analysis of more than 4,600 listed companies, RobecoSAM has compiled one of the world's most comprehensive databases of financially material sustainability information. The CSA data is also included in USD 117 billion of assets under management at Robeco.
RobecoSAM is a sister company of Robeco, the Dutch investment management firm founded in 1929. Both entities are subsidiaries of ORIX Corporation Europe N.V., the center of asset management expertise for ORIX Corporation. As a reflection of its own commitment to advancing sustainable investment practices, RobecoSAM is a signatory of the PRI, UN Global Compact and Climate Action 100+, a supporter of the Task force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), as well as a member of Eurosif, Swiss Sustainable Finance, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), and Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition (PDC). As of June 30, 2018, RobecoSAM had client assets under management, advice and/or license of approximately USD 21.5 billion.