Mercari, Inc. (“Mercari”) announces that the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index has added Mercari to its list of index constituents for the first time ever. The index is also known for being adopted by the Government Pension Investment Fund (“GPIF”) as an ESG investment index.
FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index
The FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index was designed by FTSE Russell to measure the performance of Japanese companies demonstrating specific ESG practices. Investors around the world use the index as a significant standard for evaluating investments. The index selects Japanese companies in the top 50% of each sector and with ESG Scores 2.0 and above.
https://www.lseg.com/en/ftse-russell/indices/blossom-japan
To date, Mercari has been included in four of the six ESG indices featuring Japanese companies adopted by GPIF: the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index1, the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Select Index2, the Morningstar Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt Index3, and the S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index4. The FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index marks Mercari’s fifth index inclusion.
1. Developed by MSCI, this index selects stocks from each industry that have a high ESG rating.
2. Also developed by MSCI, this index selects companies deemed exceptional based on the information they disclose regarding gender diversity.
3. This index is created by Morningstar using their criteria for evaluating the gender diversity of Japan-based companies.
4. This index is created by S&P Dow Jones Indices and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, selecting TOPIX companies and eliminating those with extremely low carbon efficiency or risk indicators higher than a certain level.
Click here for a list of the results of ESG-related recognition and awards that Mercari has received from external parties:
https://about.mercari.com/en/sustainability/award/
Through its business and corporate activities, Mercari will continue to contribute to realizing a society where all forms of value can be circulated and the potential of all people can be unleashed.
*FTSE Russell (registered trademark of FTSE International Limited and Frank Russell Company) certifies that, as a result of a third-party examination, Mercari satisfies the requirements for inclusion in the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index and has been selected as a constituent stock of the index. The FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index is widely used in the creation and evaluation of sustainable investment funds and other financial instruments.
Mercari Group’s Sustainability Strategy
Mercari strives to be a planet-positive company that contributes to solving environmental and societal issues through its business activities by realizing a society in which all forms of value circulate seamlessly.
In 2023, a report calculating the positive impact of Mercari’s business on carbon emissions revealed that an annual total of 530,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions were avoided across Japan and the US through Mercari Group’s combined business activities in both countries. In Japan alone, users avoided approximately 43,000 tons of apparel waste (by weight) by listing items they no longer needed on Mercari. This is equivalent to approximately 9% of the total 480,000 tons of apparel thrown away annually in Japan.
Going forward, Mercari will strive to do its part in creating a circular economy by continuing to take action to promote reuse and provide alternatives to throwing items away.
*“Mercari Works with the University of Tokyo to Calculate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Avoided through Transactions on Mercari” https://about.mercari.com/press/news/articles/20230808_u-tokyo_positiveimpact/ (available in Japanese only)