WIG-ESG Index
The GPW Group not only focuses on sustainable and responsible business but it also encourages responsible behaviour of participants of its markets.
The GPW Group offers financial products which integrate ESG factors.
On 3 September 2019, GPW started to publish the WIG-ESG index which covers companies participating in WIG20 and mWIG40 and replaces the RESPECT Index launched in 2009.
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 index providers and capital market investors.
The weights of WIG-ESG index participants also depend on the degree of compliance with the corporate governance principles laid down in the Best Practice for GPW Listed Companies 2016 (as of 1 July 2021: Best Practice for GPW Listed Companies 2021). 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.
The index is published every minute from the opening to the closing of trading sessions. The participation of the biggest stocks in the index 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.
WIG-ESG vs. WIG20
In 2020, GPW Benchmark carried out the first public consultations as an authorised administrator concerning changes to the WIG-ESG index methodology which would align the WIG-ESG correction schedule with the other indices in the Exchange Index Family and apply corrections of changes in the classification of companies by quantile depending on changes to the ESG Risk Rating methodology.
To ensure transparency and compliance with the established standards of public consultations, the Administrator published a summary of the consultations of the change of the method. Following feedback from consultation participants and a positive opinion of the Oversight Committee of Capital Market Benchmarks, the Administrator approved the proposed changes by amending the Exchange Index Rules. The amendment took effect as of the quarterly index correction on 18 September 2020.
The up-to-date composition of WIG-ESG is available here: GPW Benchmark - Karta indeksu.
Educational initiatives
ESG Warsaw 2020 – an ESG conference addressed to listed companies, hosted by NN Investment TFI, Erste Securities, CFA Society Poland, and the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The event features discussion panels and presentations on green bonds, greenhouse emission reporting, women in management positions, and corporate sustainable development strategies. The 2020 edition included workshops dedicated to SASB reporting and the development of corporate ESG strategies. The event featured meetings of investors with foreign companies: BASF, BP, Iberdrola, LANXESS, MOL, Novozymes, OMV, Repsol, VALEO. ESG Warsaw is hosted by NN Investment Partners TFI, CFA Society Poland, Erste Securities, and the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Due to the pandemic, the event was offered online. For more information, visit: https://www.nntfi.pl/esgwarsaw/
Sustainable Investment Fundamentals Course – sustainable investment training for asset managers and brokerage house analysts offered by GPW and Sustainable Investment Training Associate (SITA). The training provided insight into ESG integration in investment decisions. More than 100 professionals took part in sessions dedicated to asset managers and brokerage house analysts. The training took place online on 13 and 14 October and on 3 and 4 November 2020. The event partner was the Chamber of Fund and Asset Management (IZFiA).
GPW awards the best social responsibility reports – in 2020, for the eighth time running, GPW presented its award for the best corporate social responsibility report in the Responsible Business Forum competition. The competition promotes organisations whose reports share details of their engagement in support of corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, environmental and social factors. Winners are named by a panel of experts in economics, human rights, social affairs, and CSR from the world of science, community organisations, NGOs, and the public administration. GPW’s 2020 award went to BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. for its Green Change Bank report.
GPW awards public companies, in particular WIG-ESG index participants, which publish integrated reports prepared under the international reporting standards. Reports awarded by GPW provide useful information to investors and serve as a model for other companies.