CDP Outperforms DJSI

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) was launched in 1999. Upon launch, the DJSI was the first global indexes tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. In partnership with Sustainable Asset Management (SAM), the DJSI assesses companies on their identified risks and opportunities arising from sustainability and climate change issues. Companies are assessed based on their yearly completion of SAM Questionnaires.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) was launched a year after the DJSI in 2000. Although getting into corporate sustainability analysis game a year later than the DJSI, CDP is leading the charge for global disclosure. In 2010, 698 companies completed the SAM Questionnaire compared to the 3,050 companies that completed the CDP Questionnaire. Even more impressive is that companies reporting to the CDP are noticeably outperforming those companies within the DJSI. The graph below sourced from Bloomberg Finance shows the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) top 25% compared to the DJSI for the last 7 years. You can see that the CDLI portfolio outperformed the DJSI by more than 15%.

For companies looking to disclose their sustainability initiatives, the choice to disclose to the CDP over other reporting platforms should be an easy one. CDP is the largest global reporting program. Also, it is recognized by Google Finance and Bloomberg and a companies’ CDP scores are displayed on each of these websites.

If your company would like to report to the Carbon Disclosure Project or is interested in any of the new initiatives mentioned above, please feel free to contact us. Renewable Choice provides a free consultation to any company looking to report to CDP. This consultation includes a sector specific analysis of CDP members, sector specific scoring and key insights for high quality CDP reporting. Want more info now? Watch an on-demand webinar about the CDP.

Ryan Meeks is Sustainability Analyst for Renewable Choice.