ISS ESG and Qontigo have released the ISS STOXX Biodiversity Index Suite.

The cobranded suite aligns portfolios with their biodiversity impact reduction goals. All indices in the suite exclude companies involved in activities assessed to be causing significant harm to biodiversity or reducing the biodiversity footprint. They also enhance alignment with biodiversity-oriented U.N. Sustainable Development Goals such as life below water and life on land. The index methodology targets an aggregate reduction in carbon intensity of at least 30% across the included constituents.

The suite also includes a Biodiversity Leaders family which consists solely of companies deriving at least 20% of their revenues from activities that are deemed to make a positive net contribution to the SDGs. These activities include preservation of marine ecosystems and sustainable agriculture and forestry.

“Biodiversity is one of the paramount themes of our age and calls for investors to understand and address its associated risks in their investment portfolios,” said Axel Lomholt, Chief Product Officer for Indices & Benchmarks at STOXX. “This launch comes as global investors are urged by some to account for and price nature into their sustainable investment strategies, and we are confident that the unique combination of our high-quality STOXX index suite, together with ISS ESG’s rigorous data sets, will prove valuable in enabling investors to align with their biodiversity objectives.”

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