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SAM, the sustainability investment specialist, and Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, have added four additional blue-chip indexes to the family of Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). The new indexes provide market participants with tools to track sustainability leaders in the U.S., North America and globally.

The methodology for the new indexes applies the same approach as the Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability 40 Index and Dow Jones EURO STOXX Sustainability 40 Index. The sustainability scores are derived from a comprehensive annual assessment of general as well as industry-specific criteria covering issues such as corporate governance, risk management, emissions, water and energy consumption, human capital development and stakeholder relations. Read more (pdf) (DJSI)

Source: CSR Europe

Two U.S executives told a congressional panel that the country should encourage investment in efficiency and address climate change, perhaps by assigning a dollar cost to carbon emissions, Reuters reports.

John Rice, General Electric vice-chairman, and Daniel Esty, a professor of environmental law at Yale University both told the panel that cap-and-trade would be the best way to encourage investments in energy efficiency. George David, chairman of United Technologies Corp., declined to back the approach.

The European Union already covers over 1,000 industrial sites with a cap-and-trade system, but the U.S. Senate defeated efforts to adopt such a system last month.

Rice also told the panel that carbon capture and sequestration is technically viable today but not commercially viable and suggested the government to do more to help emerging energy technologies through tax credits. Read more

Source: Environmental Leader

Rolls-Royce and British Airways are starting a test program to research alternative fuels for the aviation industry. The study will seek to identify practical alternatives to the current industry-standard fuel kerosene.

The companies will invite suppliers to offer alternative fuel samples for testing on a Rolls-Royce RB211 engine from a British Airways Boeing 747. The tests will be carried out on an indoor engine test bed at the Rolls-Royce facility in Derby, UK.

Following the tender process, there will be a selection of up to four alternative fuels, which will undergo laboratory testing before being delivered to Rolls-Royce in the new year. Each company will be asked to supply up to 60,000 liters. Read more

Source: Environmental Leader