(27 July 2019) Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) announced that it has issued an Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) disclosure guidelines for listed companies, as recommended by the UN’s Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative. The guidance document provides companies with a set of 31 KPIs aligned with the exchange’s strategy which is designed to support economic growth, while providing a sustainable trading environment and encouraging the business community to adopt societal sustainability practices.

H.E. Khlalifa Salem Al Mansouri, Acting Chief Executive of ADX said: “ADX has made a formal commitment to drive sustainability in financial markets by becoming a partner exchange of this United Nations led Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative. We have carried out this programme to support our listed issuers in their sustainability reporting journey. The ESG Disclosure Guidance represents a natural evolution of our status as a regional-leading exchange, stemming from ADX’s status as a member of the Sustainability Group in the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).”

The guidance on reporting ESG information to investors looks to increase the standard of governance, by putting into operation sustainability standards and integrating them into both ADX strategy and listed companies alike. The newly-released guiding principles aim to enhance ADX’s competitiveness and attract more responsible investments to the Emirate in line with the recommendations of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE), the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the International Integrated Reporting Framework.

The ESG principles will also ensure ADX continues to make essential contributions towards promoting sustainability in financial markets, in alignment with the UAE National Vision 2021 and Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, which both outline approaches to develop appropriate infrastructure. The launch of the guide is a continuation of the exchange’s strategy aimed at supporting the national economy.

There are now 46 stock exchanges that have guidance on ESG reporting for listed companies, a steep increase from only 14 exchanges in 2015. The SSE encourages all stock exchanges to provide guidance to their issuers on ESG reporting and provides a template they may wish to start the development of guidance. For more information, visit the SSE’s web page on ESG Guidance.