The Calvert Social Index is a stock market index created by Calvert Investments as a benchmark of large companies that are considered socially responsible or ethical.[1] It currently consists of 680 companies, weighted by market capitalization, selected from approximately 1,000 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States using Calvert's social criteria.[2] These criteria relate to the environment, workplace issues, product safety, community relations, weapons contracting, international operations, and human rights.[3]
This index was created following the success of the Domini 400 Social Index by KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. The Calvert index is used by so-called socially responsible or ESG mutual funds as a benchmark for their performance.[4]