NiSource Earns Top Sustainability Honors From Dow Jones and MSCI

MERRILLVILLE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI), one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, has received two honors recognizing its leadership in sustainability, based on third-party assessments of the company’s long-term economic, environmental and social performance.

S&P Dow Jones Indices, a global index provider, named NiSource to its annual Dow Jones Best-in-Class Indices (DJ BIC) for the 12th consecutive year. Formerly known as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), DJ BIC are float-adjusted, market-capitalization-weighted indices that track equity markets using a sustainability best-in-class selection process.

MSCI also reaffirmed NiSource’s AAA ESG rating for the fifth consecutive year. This rating measures a company’s resilience to long-term, industry-specific sustainability risks using a rules-based methodology. MSCI analysts research and rate companies based on their exposure to and management of these risks relative to peers.

“These recognitions of our commitment to sustainable practices in our daily operations are greatly appreciated,” said Melody Birmingham, NiSource’s executive vice president and group president for utilities. “It reaffirms our business principles, acknowledges our employees for their hard work and dedication, and signals that our focus on sustainable practices is among the best in the industry.”

DJ BIC reflects performance across a broad set of sustainability criteria used in S&P Global’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment, which evaluates how companies manage long-term risks and opportunities. The indices represent the top 20-percent of the largest 600 North American companies in the Broad Market Index and are designed to help investors identify organizations that lead their industries on sustainability-related practices.

MSCI ESG Ratings are used by many institutional investors to compare how well companies manage key industry-specific ESG risks and to inform portfolio construction and stewardship activities, including the publication of an annual Sustainability Report. An AAA rating is MSCI’s highest designation.

About NiSource

NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.3 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. The mission of our approximately 7,700 employees is to deliver safe, reliable energy that drives value to our customers. NiSource is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability - North America Index and is on Forbes lists of America’s Best Employers for Women and Diversity. Learn more about NiSource’s record of leadership in sustainability, investments in the communities it serves and how we live our vision to be an innovative and trusted energy partner at www.NiSource.com.

About S&P Dow Jones Indices

S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets. S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies, and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit: www.spglobal.com/spdji.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) strengthens global markets by connecting participants across the financial ecosystem with a common language. Our research-based data, analytics and indexes, supported by advanced technology, set standards for global investors and help our clients understand risks and opportunities so they can make better decisions and unlock innovation. We serve asset managers and owners, private-market sponsors and investors, hedge funds, wealth managers, banks, insurers and corporates. To learn more, please visit our about page.