6 December 2023, Beijing, China – The China Sustainable Investment Forum (SIF), Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SFBN) and UN SSE convened a roundtable with stakeholders from around the region on the role of stock exchanges in advancing corporate sustainability disclosure.
As developed and emerging markets strive to adopt the newly released sustainability disclosure standards set forth by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), representatives from exchanges, securities regulators, and international organizations engaged in dialogue on advancing disclosure within their respective markets. This adoption and implementation of these new standards is facilitated through the formulation of listing rules, provision of guidance, and the implementation of training initiatives.
Speaking about the crucial role that stock exchanges play, SSE Senior Specialist Mike Zimonyi noted: “Stock exchanges are at the heart of capital markets, often acting as catalysts for positive change. UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges has worked with our partner exchanges to train over 23,000 market participants across 150 countries, shifting the needle significantly towards global adoption of the TCFD recommendations. We look forward to working with exchanges once again on the implementation of the International Sustainability Standards Board's standards to enhance performance on ESG issues and encourage sustainable investment.”
Pei Huiqi, Vice Director of the International Cooperation Department, Shenzhen Stock Exchange Kelly Lee, Senior Vice President, Policy and Secretariat Services, Listing Division, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited’s plans to implement climate-related disclosure requirements based on the ISSB’s standards from 1 January 2025 and also spoke of their work to train their market in partnership with the SSE.
Despite significant developments, challenges were also highlighted, such as the need to ensure a pragmatic pace for issuers through the fast-evolving landscape of sustainable finance.In order to help capital market participants to implement the ISSB’s standards and to build capacity for consistent, global uptake, the UN SSE and IFC have partnered with the IFRS Foundation to provide training free of charge with UN SSE Partner Exchanges. Find out more.
