Investors in Mexico will be able to track and trade in domestic companies’ sustainability.

The Mexican Stock Exchange has launched a sustainability index, only the third such index in the global financial markets.

“The Sustainability Index puts the Mexican Stock Exchange at the level of the most important exchanges in the world,” said Luiz Tellez Kuenzler, Mexican Stock Exchange president. “It is the first time we have had the sustainability process for Mexican companies implemented in the exchange, and puts Mexico in the forefront of the most important changes that are taking place in the financial sector.”

The Mexican Sustainability Index is currently comprised of 23 companies, including Alfa, America Movil, Arca Continental, Bio Pappel, Cemex, Coca-Cola FEMSA, Compartamos, Controladora Comercial Mexicana, Casas GEO, Desarrolladora Homex, Empresas ICA, OMA, Kimberly-Clark de Mexico, Aeropuertos del Sureste (ASUR), Mexichem, Organizacion Soriana, FEMSA, Industrias Penoles, Grupo Financiero Banorte, Grupo Herdez, Grupo Bimbo, Grupo Modelo, Grupo Mexico, TV Azteca, Vitro, and Wal-Mart Mexico.

Companies that can potentially join the index next year include Alsea, Corporacion Moctezuma, Grupo Financiero Inbursa, Minera Frisco, and Grupo Televisa.

Member firms are evaluated by two fully-independent qualifying institutions, including EIRIS Empowerment Responsible Investment which is headquartered in London and has a deep background on the FTSE Sustainability Index. The second institution is the South Anahuac University, a Mexican educational leader which participated in the building of the Index. And as part of the qualification process, member firms comply with international standards set by global regulating bodies.

The company also plans on offering an ETF for the index, giving those investors who are interested in investing in Mexican sustainability companies the ability to do so.

Dow Jones launched its own sustainability indices in 1999, which were the first of its kind. The DJSIs track the financial performance of several sustainability-driven companies worldwide. Based on the cooperation of Dow Jones Indexes and SAM Indexes, they provide asset managers with reliable and objective benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios.

The FTSE group has also launched its own series of sustainability indexes, known as the FTSE4Good Index Series. It was designed to objectively measure the performance of companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards. Transparent management and criteria make FTSE4Good a valuable tool for consultants, asset owners, fund managers, investment banks, stock exchanges and brokers when assessing or creating responsible investment products.