S&P offers carbon efficiency

Index provider Standard & Poor's has launched the first in a series of global low carbon indexes. The S&P US Carbon Efficient Index is designed to provide exposure to the performance of large-cap US companies with low carbon emissions, while aiming to track the return of the benchmark S&P 500. The index, part of the provider's thematic series, is designed to be used as an underlying for financial products.

The index comprises constituents of the S&P 500 that have a relatively low carbon footprint, as calculated by environmental data organisation Trucost, which calculates the carbon intensity of companies by researching and standardising publicly disclosed information and engaging directly with companies to verify its calculations on an annual basis.

Carbon footprint is calculated as the company's annual greenhouse gas emissions assessment (expressed as tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) divided by