Is the Dow Jones Sustainability Index worth a damn?
Recently, the web has been abuzz with stories about (and press releases from) companies ranked highly by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index review. The vaunted stock ticker-picker turned its eyes to green a full ten years ago to track the financial performance of “sustainability-driven companies worldwide.” Each year it releases a review of the companies in the index, using their economic, environmental, and social performance to rank them (and sometimes remove them). And the companies, in turn, use it as an excuse to make eco-happy headlines. So what’s with all the hubbub? And is it important to us mere mortals, or just to companies and investors? We checked in with a couple of our favorite eco-business experts, Joel Makower of GreenBiz.com and Auden Schendler of Aspen Skiing Co., to get their take. Here’s what they had to say. Should average consumers pay attention to the DJSI review? Why or why not? Makower: No. Being named to the DJSI may be a badge of honor (or seems to be, based
