Euronext has announced the launch of the BEL ESG index, a new index identifying Belgium companies that have demonstrated the best ESG practices.

The new index has been developed by Euronext in partnership with Sustainalytics and has been designed to be fully compliant with the Central Labelling Agency’s ‘Towards Sustainability’ label.

The BEL® ESG’s selection methodology is as follows:

• The index universe comprises companies within the BEL® 20 and BEL® Mid indices meeting specific free float market cap and velocity criteria.

• Exclusion filters are applied based on broad ESG standards and approaches adopted by institutional and private investors to exclude companies breaching Global Standards

Principles and companies with involvement in controversial activities (specific product involvement in Tobacco, Small Arms, Controversial Weapons, Military Contracting Weapons, Thermal Coal, Oil Sands, Shale Energy, Arctic Oil & Gas, Oil & Gas and Power Generation) according to Sustainalytics’ data.

• An additional filter is applied to companies based on their Sustainalytics Subindustry ESG Risk Rating percentile ranking.

• Eligible companies are ranked based on their Sustainalytics ESG ratings. The first 20 are selected and are free-float market capitalisation weighted in the BEL® ESG Index.

The 20 companies composing the BEL® ESG on launch date are:

AB Inbev Ackermans Van Haren Aedifica Aperam
Barco Bekaert Bpost Cofinimmo
Elia Group Fagron GBL KBC Group
Lotus Bakeries Proximus Shurgard Sofina
Solvay Telenet UCB WDP