First step: download our free DJSI Cheat Sheet 

Are you planning to participate in the upcoming DJSI assessment? Download our Cheat Sheet at the bottom section of this article for useful tips and tricks. If you want to make the case why your company should consider to go the extra mile, have a look at the following convincing arguments: 

1. 'High sustainability' companies significantly outperform their peers with 4.8% on return on assets and return on equity
2. Socially responsible investing is big business: the UN Principles for Responsible Investment has 1,300+ signatories representing $ 45 trillion in Assets Under Management
3. Benchmarking insights will help to accelerate sustainability success in the long run  while leveraging short-term existing performance
4. DJSI has the highest credibility and awareness of corporate sustainability investment ratings according to the Rate the Raters project
5. Inclusion in the DJSI provides evidence to demonstrate sustainability leadership that can be leveraged through corporate communications

Start planning for success: 2016 timeline

RobecoSAM has announced that it will open the online questionnaire process on April 5th, 2016. Participating companies then have eight weeks, until May 31st, to submit the completed questionnaire and all accompanying documentation, and will know on September 8th whether or not they made the cut as member of the renowned Indices.

In order to further enhance quality, in 2016 the DJSI questionnaire has been completely reviewed on the relevance of industry materialities. The outcome of this exercise is that in two-thirds of the questionnaires, criteria will be removed (the number varies per industry) and that one criterion will be added to four industry specific surveys.

Furthermore, participating companies will be evaluated more thoroughly on the quality of their materiality matrix. A 'best practice' matrix is the result of a thorough GRI G4 compliant process that is well documented, distinguishes the most important materialities, and that clearly explains the method of how these focus issues were selected. Each focus issue should be endowed with a convincing business case that clarifies how value is expected to be created in terms of revenue generation, cost reduction or risk mitigation accompanied by concrete examples.

A complete overview of methodology changes will be shared by RobecoSAM in March 2016.

Finch & Beak, the gold class DJSI expert

Since 2007, Finch & Beak closely collaborates with RobecoSAM, the company behind the DJSI, and has helped numerous companies in diverse industries to improve their performance significantly. Are you looking for guidance in the assessment process or interested in other DJSI Services? Please contact Nikkie Vinke, senior consultant, at nikkie@finchandbeak.com or call +31 6 28 02 18 80.

Image credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua J. Wahl [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons