OREANDA-NEWS. September 13, 2016. Rakuten, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has been selected for the first time as an index component for the 2016 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), as one of the top-ranking companies from the Retailing category for the Asia/Pacific regional index.

In recent years, interest in investment based on environmental, social and governance (or “ESG”) principles continues to rise, taking into account non-financial information such as use of resources, diversity of the employee base, social contributions, governance structures and transparency. The DJSI is one of the leading global indices for this kind of investment.

Rakuten was recognized for its efforts across a broad range of categories, including customer relationship management, corporate citizenship and philanthropy, and information security and cybersecurity.

“We are honored to be selected for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, as rapidly changing economic, social and environmental conditions mean corporate sustainability has never been more important,” commented Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO and Chairman, Rakuten, Inc. “As Rakuten pursues our corporate mission of contributing to society by creating value through innovation and entrepreneurship, we will also continue to drive alignment with globally-recognized environmental, social and governance principles.”

The DJSI is an investment index jointly developed by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Switzerland based RobecoSAM in 1999 that evaluates listed companies in a variety of fields based on environmental, social and governance factors and selects those that excel in long-term sustainability. In 2016, 146 companies were selected for the Asia/Pacific regional index.