Japanese personal products maker Kao Corp. said Oct. 12 that it has been included in the S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index, a global environmental stock index for ESG investing.

The S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index, established by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, is based on carbon emission data collected by environmental evaluator S&P Trucost PLC. The index invests heavily in companies that are found to be carbon-efficient and those that disclose information about their greenhouse gas emissions.

Kao said Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, or GPIF, recently selected the index for investing. GPIF is under the umbrella of the country's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The fund manages and invests the reserve public funds of the National Pension and the Employees' Pension Insurance.

GPIF, which promotes ESG investing in a bid to reduce the negative impacts of environmental and social issues, already invests in companies included in the FTSE Blossom Japan Index, the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index and the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index, according to the release.

Kao is also included in the FTSE Blossom and the MSCI Japan indices.