NYSE Euronext on Friday, announced the launch of a new carbon index identifying European companies with a low carbon footprint: the "Low Carbon 100 Europe® Index."
At the same time, BNP Paribas Investment Partners announced the creation of a new exchange traded fund (ETF), using the newly launched index as its reference. The EasyETF Low Carbon 100 Europe will list on Euronext Paris shortly. This ETF will give investors the opportunity to invest in companies with a low-carbon footprint.
The Low Carbon 100 Europe® Index is designed to measure the performance of the 100 largest blue-chip European companies with the lowest carbon (CO2) emissions in their respective sectors or sub-sectors. The index uses data provided by Trucost, a UK-based environmental research company, and Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux.
The new index has been created in partnership with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs): AgriSud, GoodPlanet.org and WWF.
When compared to the group of 300 of the largest European companies used as a benchmark, the companies included in the Low Carbon 100 Europe® Index have, on average, around 42% lower carbon emissions. This shows that NYSE Euronext is providing investors with an effective instrument that takes into consideration CO2 emissions and may be used as a relevant benchmark for portfolio management as well as a suitable underlying for index-linked products such as ETFs.
Trucost Chief Executive Simon Thomas said: "Trucost’s work with NYSE Euronext provides all investors with the opportunity to invest in carbon-efficient companies in their industry sectors. As the cost of emissions increases, the ground-breaking ETF and underlying index are designed to enable fund managers and retail investors to achieve above market returns with a much lower exposure to carbon risk."
EasyETF Low Carbon 100 Europe will aim at replicating the performance of the reference index, upward or downward.
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