Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Stock Exchange Joins Fight Against Climate Change

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 10 2011 (IPS) - The São Paulo Securities, Commodities and Futures Exchange and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) have launched the Carbon Efficient Index (ICO2) to encourage companies to measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. The new index, initiated with the participation of 42 companies, considers the relationship between the greenhouse gas emissions and revenues of each company. Participating companies are drawn from the index of the 50 most traded companies on the Exchange.

“In addition to fostering good environmental practices, the ICO2 will create opportunities to develop financial products aimed at investors interested in environmental issues, an increasingly important factor in assessing investments,” Sonia Favaretto, director of sustainability at the Exchange, told Tierramérica.

The São Paulo stock exchange had previously launched a Corporate Sustainability Index, composed of companies committed to corporate social responsibility.