Launched in 2019, the S&P Europe 350 ESG Index was designed to meet the growing market need for new benchmarks holistically integrating sustainability principles.
Spanning the 11 GICS® sectors, the index provides insights into a wide range of sustainability issues, such as governance, gender diversity, the environment, human rights, risk culture, cyber security, tax strategy, and many others.
THE INDEX FOUNDATION
The natural starting point to the S&P Europe 350 ESG Index is the S&P Europe 350. The European counterpart to the S&P 500, this index is a float-adjusted, market-capitalization-weighted index that includes the largest and most liquid stocks from developed Europe.
Exhibit 1 provides a brief methodology overview with comparisons to MSCI Europe, STOXX Europe 600, and Euro STOXX 50, three widely used European equity indices.
When comparing this index to its peers it’s important to note that the S&P Europe 350 is inclusive of both the eurozone and non-eurozone, which allows the index to provide a more comprehensive view of the region.
