Financial data outfit Markit is collaborating with the Carbon Disclosure Project to launch a family of investment indices reflecting the financial performance of companies with strong carbon management strategies.
The stock selection and weighting will be based on CDP's annual corporate Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) data, gathered from companies globally through an annual information request on behalf of 475 institutional investors.
Markit and CDP plan to launch an index for the UK and Europe, in addition to a US index and a global index. Markit intends to license the indices to exchange-traded fund (ETF) and structured product providers.
Paul Dickinson, CEO of CDP, says: "Climate change is a material issue for increasing numbers of companies and there are significant commercial opportunities for those with a strong carbon management strategy to benefit from the transition to a low carbon economy."