11.29.2004 ET

(CSRwire) London - Global index provider FTSE Group (FTSE) today unveils new supply chain labour standards criteria for the FTSE4Good Index Series. The implementation of these criteria is a milestone in the ongoing evolution of the leading SRI index series, and is supported by industry/experts, government and NGOs alike. The new criteria will be applied in phases, beginning at the March 2005 review, and continuing until the review in September 2007.

The development of the criteria has been overseen and approved by theindependent FTSE4Good Advisory Committee, and is based on feedback from an industry-wide consultation exercise, conducted earlier in 2004. 82% of respondents agreed with FTSE's suggested approach to adopt more stringent criteria for supply chain labour standards in companies. The new criteria draw on a range of existing international agreements, including the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Core Conventions.

Nigel Griffiths MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Enterprise and Construction, at the DTI has supported the move, "I very much welcome the launch of the FTSE4Good Supply Chain Criteria - voluntary initiatives by business to promote core labour standards are to be applauded."

Commenting on the introduction of these standards, Lord Brett, Director ILO said, "Voluntary initiatives, such as the FTSE4Good supply chain labour standards criteria are complementary to the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: they help the development of the Decent Work Agenda. The ILO is pleased to have been part of the consultation and to see that core labour standards underpin the index criteria."

Roy Ayliffe, Director of Professional Practice, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) added, "CIPS is happy to support the FTSE4Good initiative, as we believe the standards it is setting for FTSE organisations, while challenging, will deliver significant positive impact on these organisations' supply chains."

Implementation of the supply chain labour standards criteria will be supported by FTSE's wide-ranging global company communication and engagement programme. An in-house CSR team is available to assist companies understand the criteria and how it applies to them.

Full details of the supply chain criteria can be downloaded from www.ftse.com/ftse4good

Notes to Editors:

About FTSE Group
FTSE Group is a world-leader in the creation and management of indexes. With offices in London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Madrid, Paris, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo, FTSE Group services clients in 77 countries worldwide. It calculates and manages the FTSE Global Equity Index series, which includes world-recognised indexes ranging from the FTSE All-World Index, the FTSE4Good series and the FTSEurofirst Index series, as well as domestic indexes such as the prestigious FTSE 100. The company has collaborative arrangements with the Athens, AMEX, Cyprus, Euronext, Johannesburg London, Madrid, NASDAQ and Taiwan exchanges, as well as Nomura Securities, Hang Seng and Xinhua Finance of China, FTSE recently signed an agreement with Dow Jones Indexes to develop a single sector classification system for global investors.

FTSE indexes are used extensively by investors world-wide for investment analysis, performance measurement, asset allocation, portfolio hedging and for creating a wide range of index tracking funds. Independent committees of senior fund managers, derivatives experts, actuaries and other experienced practitioners review all changes to the indexes to ensure that they are made objectively and without bias. Real-time FTSE indexes are calculated on systems managed by Reuters. Prices and FX rates used are supplied by Reuters.

About FTSE4Good Index Series
FTSE4Good is an innovative series of real-time indices designed to reflect the performance of socially responsible equities. The series, created and managed by global index provider FTSE Group, covers four markets: UK, Europe, US and Global. Four tradable and four benchmark indices make up the FTSE4Good index series. A committee of independent practitioners in socially responsible investment, (SRI) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) review the indices to ensure that they are an accurate reflection of current CSR best practice.

FTSE Group contributes income including licence fees for FTSE4Good to UNICEF, the global children's charity.

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