Index provider Standard & Poor’s today launches the S&P US Carbon Efficient Index, which will measure the performance of large-cap US firms that have relatively low carbon emissions.

The new index is the first in a series of indices planned to meet investors’ growing demand for environmentally focusing stock market data.

“Organizations around the world are paying greater attention to the impact of greenhouse gases on our climate, as increasingly more investors consider carbon efficiency as an important investment theme,” said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s Index Services. “Standard & Poor’s is the first independent index provider to offer a broad US market index with an environmental focus, reinforcing our position as the premier provider of global thematic focused indices.”

Companies listed on the Carbon Efficient Index have their carbon footprints calculated by the environmental data organisation Trucost Plc.

Future eco-focused S&P indices will focus on other areas such as as water and forestry.

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