- Select Group to develop an EU classification system to determine whether an economic activity is environmentally-sustainable.
- Create an EU Green Bond Standard in improving the disclosure of climate-related information and by helping develop a category of low carbon indices to be used by asset and portfolio managers as a benchmark for low-carbon investment strategies.
NEW YORK/LONDON – 26 June 2018 – Thomson Reuters today announced that it has been appointed by the European Commission as a Member of the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. The Technical Expert Group (TEG) is tasked with assisting the Commission in the development of the EU sustainability taxonomy and EU Green Bond Standard, a category of low carbon indices and metrics that would improve disclosure on climate-related information. TEG will start meeting as of July 2018, comprises 35 members from civil society, academia, the business and finance sector.
“The global evidence is overwhelmingly clear, economic activity that is environmentally-sustainable benefits all of human kind and not just those directly invested in that specific activity,” said Debra Walton, managing director of customer proposition, Financial & Risk, Thomson Reuters. “We are delighted to have this opportunity to work closely with fellow Technical Expert Group members and the European Commission to help to shape the policies that enable the development of green bond standards and low-carbon indices that investment managers can use as environmentally-sustainable benchmarks.”
Elena Philipova, global head of ESG proposition at Thomson Reuters, who has been selected to represent Thomson Reuters on the distinguished group, commented: “At Thomson Reuters, we strive to be the trusted partner for environmental, social and governance information (ESG), and we are committed to bringing to the market an array of best in class data, analytics and workflow solutions that enable customers to act with confidence. We have deep domain expertise and have been providing ESG solutions to the financial industry since the early 2000s. I applaud the leadership of the European Commission and look forward to collaborating with my fellow Technical Expert Group members to accelerate the shift towards a more sustainable financial system across the EU and beyond.”
Thomson Reuters ESG data covers nearly 70% of global market cap, and is designed to help investors make sound sustainable investment decisions. We help customers to assess the risks – and opportunities – posed by company performance in important areas such as climate change, executive remuneration and diversity and inclusion. We provide transparent ESG data and scores for nearly 8,000 global companies with data since FY2002, which supports tailored analytics to specific ESG mandates, full integration with mainstream workflows and effective backtesting of sustainable investment strategies. For more information about Thomson Reuters ESG solutions, please visit financial.thomsonreuters.com/esg
Recent investment data indicates that the global shift from active fund and investment management to passive management is likely to continue for the foreseeable future as investors seek a well diversified and cost-effective portfolio along with greater investment opportunities beyond U.S markets. This trend has led to an increased demand for transparent, trusted specialty indices and benchmarks.
Thomson Reuters has been involved in calculating, administering and distributing benchmarks for over a quarter of a century. Thomson Reuters administers and calculates a wide range of benchmarks across all major asset classes globally and publishes 350 benchmarks in more than 90 countries.
Thomson Reuters Benchmark Services Ltd was created in March 2014 as a separate and fully regulated subsidiary to prepare for the regulation of financial benchmarks, and provides an effective governance framework for the benchmarks it administers. For more information about Thomson Reuters benchmarks, please visit financial.thomsonreuters.com/benchmarks
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