Socially Responsible Equity Funds and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Author(s):  
Roberto Liebscher
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3237
Author(s):  
Pyounggu Baek ◽  
Taesung Kim

As ethical management, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and corporate sustainability (CS) are increasingly permeating business discourse, contemplating the role of human resources (HR) in helping organizations with socially responsible management is a proactive acceptance of stakeholders’ expectations while reinforcing the field’s identity and contribution. In response, the we examined the HR policies and practices of 46 multinational enterprises (MNEs) listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World 2018/2019 to add new insights to the literature and inform the HR field on how to move forward with socially responsible HR. Content analysis and inductive conceptualization of the MNEs’ HR activities produced a triangular pyramid for socially responsible HR, constructed with eight major themes at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels. Building on the findings, we suggest implications for practice and research, and conclude with urging the HR community to demonstrate leadership in setting the agendas and facilitating change toward socially responsible management.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Yuh Ching ◽  
Thiago Toste ◽  
Renan Tardelli

The study proposes to develop a reference model of sustainability disclosure based on the models and requirements of four sustainability indexes - Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Corporate Sustainability Index ISE, Frankfurt STOXX and Financial Times FTSE ESG. The approach employed to develop the model is a qualitative analysis of the complementarity among the Stock indexes above mentioned alongside a literature review on sustainability disclosure frameworks. There is no consensus around what should be measured and how. Yet, there is no study in the literature that has ever discussed the models of the sustainability stock indexes and the respective data required in each one of them or compared these models and their requirements. The present study attempts to fulfill this gap by examining the initiatives and requirements of four prominent sustainability indexes. This study contributes to the sustainability responsible investment literature. The inclusion of a firm in a sustainability index can be perceived as a positive signal by investors and this can be explained by signaling theory. This analysis can help investors and/or socially responsible fund managers to screen the stocks against this reference model and determine those firms that are more adherent to it.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doaa Mohammed Elkhawas

Corporations are under growing pressure from socially responsible investors to consider the environmental and social impacts of their operations. To help highlight corporations that have taken steps to address these issues, a number of sustainability indices have been developed. While there is a growing body of literature that focuses on sustainability indices, little is known on how they are used in practice. The purpose of this project was to explore the use of sustainability indices in corporations. In this project, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America (DJSINA) was used in a case study. The project consisted of three key phases: a content analysis of corporate sustainability reports in North America, a survey with Canadian experts on the DJSINA, and a review of the DJSI website. The project highlights the similarities and differences in the use of the DJSI by Canadian and American corporations. As the first study focusing on the use of the DJSINA, the results will be of interest to practitioners and academics in socially responsible investment and corporate sustainability.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doaa Mohammed Elkhawas

Corporations are under growing pressure from socially responsible investors to consider the environmental and social impacts of their operations. To help highlight corporations that have taken steps to address these issues, a number of sustainability indices have been developed. While there is a growing body of literature that focuses on sustainability indices, little is known on how they are used in practice. The purpose of this project was to explore the use of sustainability indices in corporations. In this project, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America (DJSINA) was used in a case study. The project consisted of three key phases: a content analysis of corporate sustainability reports in North America, a survey with Canadian experts on the DJSINA, and a review of the DJSI website. The project highlights the similarities and differences in the use of the DJSI by Canadian and American corporations. As the first study focusing on the use of the DJSINA, the results will be of interest to practitioners and academics in socially responsible investment and corporate sustainability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iván Arribas ◽  
María Espinós-Vañó ◽  
Fernando García ◽  
Paula Morales-Bañuelos

Social rating agencies implement complex filters to identify the companies with the best sustainable and social performance and help investors select the companies for their sustainable portfolios. This study analysed whether companies that are defined as ethical, sustainable and socially responsible by those agencies actually deserve this label. More specifically, the inclusion in the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World of companies that have been involved in controversies according to the Thomson Reuters Eikon database was studied. The results show that the inclusion of irresponsible companies in the DJSI Index is a fact. This outcome is in line with previous studies that criticise the methodologies applied by social rating agencies and those which outline the similarity of sustainable and conventional portfolios. The results may explain the contradictory conclusions regarding the performance of sustainable and conventional mutual funds in numerous studies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grigoris Giannarakis ◽  
Xanthi Partalidou ◽  
Eleni Zafeiriou ◽  
Nikolaos Sariannidis

This paper examines the effect of various economic and financial indicators on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) returns. In particular, four explanatory variables are employed, namely United States (US) 10 Year bond value, gold price, Trade Weighted U.S. Dollar Index and Consumer Sentiment Index calculated by Michigan University. A generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model is applied over DJSI United States which incorporates socially responsible companies for the period August, 1999 to May, 2016 using monthly data. The empirical results indicate that the consumer sentiment and the bond market exert positive impact on the DJSI US, whereas the gold and currency market affects it negatively. In addition, the structural analysis of DJSI US returns volatility showed that the US trade balance has a stabilizing effect on the conditional variance of the DJSI US return series. JEL Classification: G1, F2, Q40, M21. Keywords: Dow Jones Sustainability Index, bond value, gold, exchange rate, consumer sentiment


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Sariannidis ◽  
Grigoris Giannarakis ◽  
Xanthi Partalidou ◽  
Bakas Evangelos

This study intends to investigate whether stock returns affect the consumer sentiment. In particular, socially responsible companies are incorporated in the sample in order to capture the specification of socially responsible investors. For this reason, the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index is used as a proxy for consumer confidence, while data from Dow Jones Sustainability Index US is employed as a proxy for socially responsible companies for the period 1999-2016. The generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model applied and illustrated that stock returns affect positively the consumer confidence. The result has important implications for investors and policy makers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grigoris Giannarakis ◽  
Alexandros Garefalakis ◽  
Christos Lemonakis ◽  
George Konteos

This study intends to investigate the main drivers of socially responsible stock index returns. For this reason, Dow Jones Sustainability Index World (DJSIW) is employed to identify companies that incorporate socially responsible initiatives in their business operations. As far as explanatory drivers of DJSIW returns are concerned, four variables are considered namely, gold prices, dollar US value to major currencies, interest rate and air pollution, while oil prices is examined in relation to volatility of DJSIW returns. Furthermore, a GARCH method was applied to investigate the relationship between explanatory variables and DJSIW returns for the period August, 1999 to 31 May, 2016 using monthly data. It is revealed that all explanatory variables have a negative effect on DJSIW. In addition, the increase of oil prices has a stabilizing effect on volatility of DJSIW returns. The results are important to explain the investor’s behaviour to socially responsible stock index returns.


Bauingenieur ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 94 (09) ◽  
pp. 315-325
Author(s):  
Sascha Hofmann

Zusammenfassung Die Nachhaltigkeit von Bauunternehmen wird bei der Gebäudezertifizierung und bei der Vergabe von Bauleistungen derzeit nicht berücksichtigt. Ein bauspezifisches Modell zur Bewertung unternehmerischer Nachhaltigkeitsaspekte existiert bisher nicht. Forschungsansätze der Bau- und Immobilienwirtschaft sowie bestehende Modelle anderer Wirtschaftszweige, wie beispielsweise der Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), können nur sehr eingeschränkt für die Bewertung von Bauunternehmen herangezogen werden, da diese mehrheitlich auf die Evaluation kapitalmarktorientierter Großunternehmen abzielen und die Besonderheiten der Bauproduktion sowie die vergaberechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen der VOB/A zumeist unberücksichtigt bleiben. In diesem Beitrag werden die wesentlichen Ergebnisse eines am Lehrstuhl Immobilienwirtschaft und Bauorganisation der TU Dortmund durchgeführten Dissertationsvorhabens zur Entwicklung eines Modells für die Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung von Bauunternehmen dargestellt. Zunächst werden die wesentlichen bauspezifischen Anforderungen zur Bewertung der unternehmerischen Nachhaltigkeit von Bauunternehmen erläutert. Anschließend werden die Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung bestehender Forschungs- und Bewertungsansätze aus der Bau- und Immobilienwirtschaft sowie der stationären Industrie aufgezeigt. Abschließend werden die wesentlichen Bestandteile des neu entwickelten Modells zur Bewertung der Nachhaltigkeit von Bauunternehmen dargestellt. Der Fokus liegt hierbei auf der entwickelten Bewertungsmethodik und dem bauspezifischen Kriterienkatalog.


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