WIG ESG and Respect Index
The Warsaw Stock Exchange has for years promoted the highest ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) standards among listed companies. GPW used to publish the RESPECT Index, which accomplished its educational mission over its ten years in existence. Since 3 September 2019, GPW publishes the WIG-ESG index comprised of stocks participating in WIG20 and mWIG40.
The weights of WIG-ESG participants depend on free-float shares adjusted for ESG rankings provided by Sustainalytics and an assessment of compliance with corporate governance principles. WIG-ESG will be the underlying of a passive fund managed by NN Investment Partners TFI.
The ESG ranking of companies, one of the criteria of index weights, is based on Sustainalytics reports. The international provider of ESG services Sustainalytics determines company scorings based on information publicly available from companies, including corporate annual reports, non-financial reports, and websites. Sustainalytics’ ESG risk ratings measure the exposure of an industry to specific risks related to the ESG criteria and assess the management of such risks by the company. Sustainalytics works with global providers of indices and investment firms active on global capital markets.
The weights of WIG-ESG participants also depend on the degree of compliance with the corporate governance principles laid down in the Code of Best Practice for GPW Listed Companies 2016. Based on companies’ public statements of compliance, the Exchange will determine weights of the companies depending on the number of respected principles and the quality of published statements.
Index data are published every minute from the opening to the closing of each trading session. The participation of the biggest stocks in the index portfolio is capped according to the 5/10/40 rule (participation of the biggest stock capped at 10%, aggregate participations of stocks weighing more than 5% capped at 40%). WIG-ESG is a total return index.
Following the launch of WIG-ESG, GPW has engaged in educational initiatives to promote ESG factors in investing decisions. GPW hosted ESG Warsaw on 25 November 2019, an event dedicated to the impact of non-financial factors on investor activity. The event was co-organised by our market partners: NN Investment Partners, CFA Society Poland, Erste Securities Polska.
Respect Index
The RESPECT Index project was a flagship initiative of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and a part of its educational efforts in support of corporate social responsibility of GPW listed companies and responsible investing in Poland.
The index portfolio included companies listed on the GPW Main Market which followed the highest standards of corporate governance, disclosures and investor relations taking into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their business. The companies were audited and the index portfolio was revised once per year in the second half of the year. The index portfolio included the biggest listed companies participating in the indices WIG20, mWIG40 and sWIG80. The companies were selected in three steps of verification carried out by GPW and the Association of Listed Companies in the areas listed above as well as an audit performed by the RESPECT Index project partner since the first edition, Deloitte.
The RESPECT Index portfolio included between 16 and 31 companies in the twelve editions of the survey, last held in the autumn of 2018. The final index portfolio of the twelfth edition, audited by Deloitte, was comprised of 31 companies, including two new participants (Amrest Holding SE, CCC S.A.), as well as PKN Orlen S.A.
The past twelve editions of the RESPECT Index project had more than 40 participants.
RESPECT Index and WIG performance [%]
