In June 2023, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) was selected for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for the first time following a review of the 2022 constituent stocks. What is the significance of being a part of this leading Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) index? Read on to learn more.
DJSI World a global ESG index highly regarded by companies and investors
Jointly developed by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC in the United States and RobecoSAM AG in Switzerland, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) are leading indices of ESG investments. Offered since 1999, the DJSI selects publicly listed companies around the world by analyzing their economic, environmental and social performances.
Every year, the DJSI surveys the top 3,500 listed companies in the world by market capitalization, and the top 10% from each industry are then chosen for inclusion in DJSI World. SoftBank achieved the highest score among the companies selected from Japan in the 2022 fiscal year, and it was the only Japan-based company selected for the Telecommunication Services industry group. This stellar achievement follows SoftBank’s previous inclusion in the DJSI Asia/Pacific Index.
The DJSI evaluates companies quantitatively according to these and other ESG activities:
| Category | Examples of activities for evaluation |
| Environment | Climate strategy, biodiversity, resource efficiency, circularity |
| Social | Human rights, human capital & skill development, customer relationship management & privacy protection, stakeholder engagement |
| Governance | Corporate governance, information security, cybersecurity, innovation management |
According to S&P Dow Jones Indices and RobecoSAM, DJSI World takes a best-in-class approach to selecting the world’s top 10% of leading sustainability champions within industries. As such, DJSI World acts as a global reference point for identifying the companies that are best positioned to address unprecedented sustainability challenges for the future state of the world.
SoftBank has been strengthening its initiatives to improve its DJSI evaluation for a number of years. SoftBank’s actions include linking executive compensation to ESG performance, actively appointing female executives, and inspecting and improving items that infringe on employees' rights across its entire group of companies. SoftBank has undertaken specific actions in approximately 1,000 areas and is committed to making ongoing improvements.
Based on the concept of “a world where all things, information and minds are connected,” SoftBank has identified six material issues (or key challenges) to be addressed. By promoting its businesses in the information and technology domain, SoftBank aims to solve problems people and society are facing, and thereby enhance its corporate value.
(Posted on August 31, 2023, Original article posted on August 22, 2023)
by SoftBank News Editors
