Mitsui Chemicals Included on 2019 Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo: 4183; President & CEO: Tsutomu Tannowa) today announced that it has again been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), a global benchmark for measuring environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments. Having been added to the DJSI Asia Pacific index last year, the company has now managed to maintain its listing here following the index’s annual review for 2019.

DJSI, the index jointly developed by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, U.S., and RobecoSAM AG, Switzerland, evaluates corporate sustainability on the basis of economic, environmental and social factors to select the leading sustainability-driven companies. DJSI Asia Pacific covers approximately 600 major companies in the Asia–Pacific region, with 148 companies having been selected in 2019.

On top of its inclusion here, Mitsui Chemicals has been selected as part of four other stock indices utilized by Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest retirement scheme. These are the FTSE Blossom Japan Index, the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index, the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN) and the S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other initiatives aimed at solving the challenges faced by society continue to gain momentum worldwide, and companies are increasingly being asked to take action. The chemical industry is both a cornerstone platform of society and responsible for driving innovation. As a part of this industry, we are aware of the significant responsibility that we have to help resolve global-scale social challenges.

For a sustainable society to be realized, it is essential that companies not only achieve growth but also create social value by providing solutions. The Mitsui Chemicals Group will as such seek business opportunities and strive to solve challenges through our business activities, as well as recognize future risks for the Group and uphold our corporate social responsibility as we aim to achieve sustainable development in society and the Group.

For more information on the Mitsui Chemicals Group’s ESG initiatives, visit
https://www.mitsuichem.com/en/sustainability/index.htm

■Dow Jones Sustainability Index URL：http://www.robecosam.com/

■FTSE Blossom Japan Index:
This index reflects the performance of Japanese companies that excel at ESG initiatives. It is based on the existing FTSE4Good index, which is already held in high regard worldwide and incorporates international standards such as the UN’s SDGs. The FTSE Blossom Japan index is designed to be industry-neutral.

■MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index:
This index utilizes MSCI’s ESG ratings to identify companies that perform strongly in ESG evaluations when compared to the average for their industry.

■ MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN):
This index from MSCI focuses specifically on the theme of gender diversity in the workplace. Companies from various industries are included here for scoring highly on gender diversity metrics and for actively pursuing female representation.

■S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index:
This index is formed from the S&P Dow Jones Indices and weighted based on carbon emissions data from S&P Trucost Ltd. The index gives additional credence to companies that, compared to their industry average, are highly carbon-efficient and openly disclose information regarding their greenhouse gas emissions.