Peter Truesdale on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Groucho Marx declared: “I would not join any club that would have someone like me for a member”. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) don’t issue that many invitations. They only have a limited number of ‘best-in-class’ companies as members and because it is so difficult to get in, everybody wants to join. You may believe that you are super-sustainable but unless DJSI judge you to be more sustainable than your competitors you can’t be in the index.

Why have companies not pushed back more against this exclusive index? The answer is that somewhere deep down companies accept DJSI’s basic assumptions. They accept that only a small proportion of the universe of companies is sustainable. They accept that the (relatively) transparent way in which the index is constructed and that the information supplied is fair. A company deleted from the index doubtless wants to argue the toss: “We ought to have had an extra point there! We should have been given a better mark for reporting!” Yet companies do not claim that the system itself is defective. It is a bit like sport. The player might think that the ref was wrong to rule him offside but does not therefore want to junk the rules of Association Football.

Can the DJSI help companies that are not in the best-in-class category or within spitting distance of it? Emphatically yes. The structure of the index and the questions asked give a good steer as to what a company needs to do to be sustainable. You may not make the index any year soon but you can use the process of responding to DJSI to identify gaps and devise action plans to close them. Few will win the prize, all can benefit from the process.

Peter Truesdale, Peter.truesdale@corporate-citizenship.com

Peter has wide experience in public and community affairs. Prior to joining The Corporate Citizenship Company he spent seven years managing Esso UK’s community programme. By background, Peter is a human resources professional with significant expertise in conducting competitive salary surveys. Peter has worked with a variety of clients from fast moving consumer goods companies such as Cadbury Schweppes to construction companies such as Laing O’Rourke. Peter has developed specialisms in reporting and external standards. He is active in his local community and is a member of Lambeth Council. He has a special interest in housing and in urban regeneration. Peter is a graduate of Oxford University in Modern History.