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Update: DJSI methodology changes for 2018 available now |
Every year, RobecoSAM revises its questionnaire to adapt to evolving investor interests and market shifts. In this article, an overview of the main methodology changes and added questions is provided. This year’s main changes include:
RobecoSAM introduced a new criterion for all industries pointing towards tax policy, its operating principles and transparency by reporting on the company’s taxed paid. As with all questions, its answer is perceived from the perspective of the investor: tax optimizing strategies may increase profitability in the short term, but what is the company doing about the attached risk and its mitigation? Since this criterion is introduced for the first time, RobecoSAM is accommodating participants by giving it a relatively low weighting.
Finally, changes have been made to the assessment for companies within a number of industries. For instance, a criterion on principles for sustainable insurance has been added for the Insurance industry, and IT security & system availability questions were added for the IT services & Internet Software and Services and Software industries. For real estate, several questions have been aligned with selected questions from the 2014 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) survey. A complete overview of all industry specific content changes can be found on page 5-7 of RobecoSAM’s 2014 Methodology Update.
In conclusion, it was important to take the above changes into account while filling out the 2014 questionnaire since it requires additional data. Besides, a survey result can only be as good as the sustainability strategy it is representing; strong DJSI performance is a long term approach – not a short term instrumental optimization.
On 11 September 2014, RobecoSAM published this year's DJSI results. All participating companies have access to their individual scorecard that provides valuable information on their performance. This resource can be used for monitoring performance throughout the years, as well as a stepping stone for determining concrete areas for improvement.
If your company has participated in the 2014 Sustainability Assessment and is looking for a structured approach to learn from the scorecard, contact Nikkie Vinke, consultant, at nikkie@finchandbeak.com or +31 6 28 02 18 80.
Seasoned advisor in ESG benchmarking, sustainability strategy and stakeholder engagement. | nikkie.vinke@slrconsulting.com
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