Costa Rica Joins Exchanges Committed to Sustainability with UN SSE Initiative

8 May 2018

(8 May 2018) The National Stock Exchange of Costa Rica, the Bolsa Nacional de Valores (BNV), signed a commitment letter on May 8th to mark its partnership with the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative. In doing so, the BNV joins more than 70 other exchanges in committing to promote long-term sustainable investment through the United Nations peer to peer learning platform. “For the National Stock Exchange of Costa Rica, it is very important to confirm our commitment to promoting the best standards for the securities market, and sustainability is no exception,” said José Brenes Vega, CEO of the National Stock Exchange of Costa Rica.  “Because of this, we will provide support to all market participants to lead their growth with strategies from a responsible perspective vis-a-vis the society and the environment. Costa Rica has been taken as a reference point in environmental protection, and for that reason it is an honor for the National Stock Exchange to influence a path to a sustainable financial system.” The BNV is already engaged in developing sustainable capital markets, it is the first Stock Exchange in Central America that launched a “Green Bonds” platform, and recently hosted a seminar in conjunction with UNEP-FI and the SSE on green bonds, and during the seminar discussed topics such as best practice and how to ensure compliance, and promoted the launch of green bonds for green growth in Costa Rica. To complement this, the BNV now offers a section on the website with general information, videos and online training on green bonds. Founded in 1976, the BNV is the oldest stock market in the Central America region. It follows Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Chile as the 7th Latin American exchange to the join the SSE.

About the SSE

​The SSE initiative is a UN Partnership Programme organised by UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, UNEP FI and the PRI. The SSE’s mission is to provide a global platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, companies (issuers), regulators, policymakers and relevant international organizations, can enhance performance on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment, including the financing of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The SSE seeks to achieve this mission through an integrated programme of conducting evidence-based policy analysis, facilitating a network and forum for multi-stakeholder consensus-building, and providing technical assistance and advisory services.