Exchange in Focus: NYSE Publishes ESG Disclosure Guidance
28 May 2021
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) joins a group of now 60 stock exchanges around the world that have written guidance on ESG reporting. NYSE recently published its ESG Guidance: Best Practices for Sustainability, which will assist companies with ESG disclosure by highlighting key elements of good quality reporting and drawing attention to useful resources, including those provided by the NYSE. The target audience for these best practices include individuals in reporting organizations who are responsible for ESG governance and oversight, strategy and risk management, reporting, and communications with various stakeholders (including the investment community).
Integrating environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policies and practices into a company’s strategy and daily operations is increasingly regarded by investors as relevant to its ability to realise long-term value. Therefore, transparency around how a company manages ESG risks and opportunities is part of its value proposition. As a result, the financial community increasingly recognises that to thoroughly assess an investment, it must also analyse relevant ESG factors.
“At this stage of the ESG evolution, the NYSE community plays an important role in advancing the dialogue as each company identifies the ESG issues that are the most important to its business, integrates its approach to these issues into the business strategy, and then delivers this narrative to investors and other stakeholders.
For most companies, focusing on serving a broad range of stakeholder and ESG issues is not new, but telling that story might be. To help address this need, the NYSE is releasing its ESG Guidance: Best Practices for Sustainability Reporting.” - Stacey Cunningham, NYSE President
“Today, it is critical to issuers that they are able to accurately and effectively communicate with their stakeholders about the way they are addressing the ESG risks and opportunities in their businesses. We are pleased to formalize and add this guidance to the broad range of tools and resources we provide to our NYSE-listed companies to support them in their ESG reporting goals" said NYSE’s Head of ESG Advisory, Brian Matt.
SSE ESG Model Guidance and SSE ESG Guidance Database
Increased disclosure of ESG information has been the longest-standing objective of the SSE. In September 2015 when the SSE launched its Model Guidance for exchanges, fewer than a quarter of stock exchanges around the world were providing guidance on reporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) information for their markets. More than half of the SSE’s members have now published guidance. The SSE ESG Guidance Database contains a comprehensive list of all stock exchange ESG guidance documents in the world so that other stock exchanges can learn from their peers. The database is updated to include an analysis of major ESG reporting instruments referenced in stock exchange guidance documents. To learn more, check our press release about the new database.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.
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