Inbrief

The Brazilian stock exchange, Bovespa, has started a corporate sustainability index of 28 companies judged to be among the country’s most socially responsible. The index has been developed with help from the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private sector arm. The companies chosen for inclusion represent 35 per cent of the exchange’s market capitalization and include Aracruz (pulpmaking), Eletrobras (energy), and Perdigao (meat products). The introduction of the index, the first in South America, was due in late summer 2005 but was delayed.