Tokyo—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., is proud to announce that its stock has again been selected for inclusion in two stock indexes focused on companies with strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices—the FTSE4Good Index Series and the FTSE Blossom Japan Index. Yokohama Rubber’s inclusion in the global FTSE4Good Index Series for a 15th straight year reconfirms that the company’s ESG activities and disclosure practices meet the highest global standards. The company was selected to the FTSE Blossom Japan Index for the third straight year.

Since the global recession started by the Lehman Shock in 2008, investors who traditionally focused on such financial indicators as sales and profits have also increasingly focused on ESG investing that takes into consideration companies’ environmental, social, and governance activities. Accordingly, indexes composed of companies with strong ESG practices have become used by a growing number of investors around the world.

The FTSE4Good Index Series and FTSE Blossom Japan Index are two of the many indexes developed and maintained by FTSE Russell*. The former is used by investors around the world as a benchmark index for their ESG-focused investments. The FTSE Blossom Japan Index was established as an industry-neutral index that reflects the performance of Japanese companies that demonstrate strong ESG practices. It is one of four indexes selected by Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) to guide its ESG investments.

CSR activities are one of the key management strategies outlined in Yokohama Rubber’s Grand Design 2020 (GD2020) medium-term management plan, under which Group companies are endeavoring to create value through business activities that protect the environment, contribute to society, and observe the highest standards of corporate governance.

*A wholly owned subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, FTSE Russell is a major global index provider engaged in the creation and administration of investment-oriented indexes.