Tracking the 'green' stocks

Now for those investors who feel strongly about eco-friendly business practices, here's an initiative to help them track the performance of green companies on Indian stock markets. A broad-based green index has been conceptualised by Verdurous Solutions, a consultancy on 'clean-tech' initiatives.

The 25-stock index incorporates firms from the renewable energy and energyefficiency space besides the mainstream 'old economy' manufacturing companies. The criteria—firms must have demonstrated superior environmental performance compared to their industry peers.

The index includes Suzlon Energy, Hero Honda, Praj Industries, Bajaj Hindustan and ITC. Says Sunderasan Srinivasan, Economist, Verdurous Solutions: "The index is intended to analyse the correlation between superior environmental performance and firm valuations."