SRI Index ignores significant violations of environmental laws

The Centre for Environmental Rights and other NGOs contend that the JSE's SRI Index undermines environmental regulation by listing companies that are non-compliant with environmental laws. They propose that the Index should require legal compliance as a minimum qualification, implement independent methods to identify enforcement actions using public data, and require companies to self-report environmental violations and fines annually. The document highlights that environmental non-compliance is price-sensitive information, citing a 19% drop in Coal of Africa Limited shares in November 2010 following enforcement action.

• The SRI Index is perceived by environmental NGOs as undermining the statutory environmental regulatory system by presenting non-compliant companies as "model corporate citizens".
• The Centre for Environmental Rights proposes three specific requirements for the SRI Index: that legal compliance be a minimum qualification for listing, that the Index use independent methods to identify non-compliance via public records, and that companies be required to annually disclose environmental legislation compliance, findings of non-compliance, directives, criminal investigations, and fines paid.
• Publicly available data sources that the JSE could use to monitor compliance include the Department of Environmental Affairs' annual National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report, parliamentary responses on www.polity.org.za, and news media coverage.
• Environmental non-compliance is identified as price-sensitive information for shareholders, exemplified by Coal of Africa Limited, whose shares fell 19% in November 2010 after news of environmental enforcement action became public.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2010). SRI Index ignores significant violations of environmental laws. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Reply-to-JSE-SRI-Dec-2010.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. SRI Index ignores significant violations of environmental laws. 2010. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Reply-to-JSE-SRI-Dec-2010.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=SRI Index ignores significant violations of environmental laws |date=17 December 2010 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Reply-to-JSE-SRI-Dec-2010.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2010sri, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{SRI Index ignores significant violations of environmental laws}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2010}, month = dec, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Reply-to-JSE-SRI-Dec-2010.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }