This month includes news from ASX, CME, JSE, LuxSE, SIX and more. Monthly news highlights are compiled by the SSE to give an overview of the capital markets' sustainability news from that month.
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SSE INITIATIVE NEWS & EVENTS
UN SSE welcomes Pakistan Stock Exchange06 June 2022
The UN Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative welcomes The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as a new member. PSX has solidified its commitment to transparency and sustainability by becoming a partner exchange of the UN SSE initiative.
Nearly 70 stock exchanges promoting TCFD – 5 key actions20 June 2022
A new database launched by UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges (UN SSE) shows that 69 stock exchanges globally are taking actions in support of enhancing climate-related financial disclosures in their markets. The database identified five activities that stock exchanges are undertaking in support of the diffusion of reporting practices in alignment with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
UN SSE welcomes Ghana Stock Exchange24 June 2022
The SSE initiative welcomes Ghana Stock Exchange as a new member. The newest partner joins a network of now 116 stock exchanges and 13 derivatives exchanges around the world that are committed to promoting sustainable development.
UN SSE addresses FIA’s 2022 International Derivatives Expo (IDX) conference25 June 2022
On 8 June, the UN SSE was invited to the Futures Industry Association’s 2022 International Derivatives Expo (IDX) to join a “fireside chat” on sustainable finance and the role of derivatives markets. Anthony Miller, Coordinator of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative, and Christy Goldsmith Romero, Commissioner for the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, discussed a number of sustainability themes, in particular climate action, with the CEO of the FIA, Walt Lukken.
SSE addresses CFOs at UN Global Compact SGD Investment Forum in Paris
30 June 2022
The SSE addressed the UN Global Compact’s European SDG Investment Forum in Paris, France. The forum brought together nearly 150 C-Suite participants from both the public and private sectors alongside representatives from the UN, civil society and academia. The event featured deliberations on how the private sector can play a greater role in directing capital toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
New SSE TV New Episodes Released!
The SSE TV has released new episodes featuring Walt Lukken (CEO & President of FIA Global), Carole Laible (CEO of Domini Impact Investments), Samuel Ho Hock Guan (CEO of Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad), Luc Fortin (CEO & President, Montreal Exchange & Global Head of Trading at TMX Group).
SSE upcoming events:UN SSE, CDP & IFC to Provide Free Climate Disclosure Training to Exchanges and their Issuers
In order to provide markets with high-quality training on climate disclosure and provide an overview of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, the UN SSE together with IFC and CDP, have created a multifaceted CPD accredited course for exchanges to distribute to their markets, free of charge. These sessions have been delivered in more than 20 markets so far, from New York to Bangladesh and London to South Africa. For more information on past and future training sessions, visit the SSE Academy event page. Contact: [email protected] if you would like to host a training session in your market. This is a NO COST service available for all SSE Partner Exchanges.
EXCHANGE NEWS
SIX Group: Challenges for Financial Institutions with EU ESG Regulations
01 June 2022
The EU Taxonomy and SFDR are the single-largest pieces of ESG-related legislation introduced anywhere in the world, and their compliance requirements are equally daunting. Find out what financial institutions now need to know and who can help.
ICE's Experts on the Leading Edge of Sustainable Finance
01 June 2022
Gordon Bennett, Managing Director of ICE’s Utility Markets including ICE’s ever-growing environmental markets, returns to the podcast along with Brian Matt, Head of ESG Advisory at the New York Stock Exchange. Two of ICE’s ESG Experts unpack what it means to place a value on carbon, as well as on nature, and how this can help mitigate climate risk.
Latinex Group launches First Sustainability Report and Strategy02 June 2022
Latin American Stock Exchange (Latinex) has launched their first sustainability report and strategy. The report available in Spanish (Reporte de Sostenibilidad 2021) contains information regarding the group’s environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management and performance, during the year 2021.
CME Group: Advancing A Sustainable Future 2021 ESG Report
02 June 2022
As one of CME Group’s efforts to progress toward their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, they have developed a cohesive and actionable strategic framework that includes evolving and advancing our policies, goals and reporting.
NGX Reg mulls Guidelines on Corporate Compliance on Climate Sustainability
06 June 2022
The Nigerian Exchange Regulation (NGX Reg), a self regulatory organisation (SRO), plans to issue new guidelines to ensure quoted companies comply with international best practices on climate friendliness and sustainability.
Nasdaq's 2021 Sustainability Report Highlights Impact for all Stakeholders
08 June 2022
Nasdaq has released its 2021 Sustainability Report, which illustrates how the company advanced and executed its sustainability strategy amid a global pandemic and highlights Nasdaq’s sustainability impact on the wider financial ecosystem and the communities it serves. Along with the Sustainability Report, Nasdaq also published its second annual Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report, which specifically focuses on addressing risks and opportunities related to climate change.
NSE and Risk Insights Collaborate to Drive Sustainability for East Africa
10 June 2022
Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and Risk Insights have agreed to cooperate and use Risk Insights' Al-powered ESG GPST rating platform and suite of products to provide access to ESG ratings, ESG disclosure information, ESG news and strategic business intelligence to the NSE listed companies. This cooperation is aimed jointly at driving sustainability for East Africa.
JSE Unveils Guidance Framework to Aid Progress in Disclosure and Governance
14 June 2022
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) released its Sustainability and Climate Disclosure Guidance that aims to promote transparency and good governance, and guide listed companies on best practice in environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure.
ASX: Where should Small- and Mid-Cap Listed Businesses Start when It comes to ESG Reporting
14 June 2022
Where once environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns were the province of the big end of town, now it’s expected all listed businesses incorporate ESG risks and thinking into strategy. But big and small ASX companies have very different resources and levels of maturity when it comes to reporting this data. This panel explores where things are for small and mid-cap listed businesses’ ESG skills.
SIX Partners with Urgentem to Bring Climate Data and Analytics to Its Clients
15 June 2022
Swiss financial data expert SIX, announces a partnership with Urgentem, an independent provider of carbon emissions data and climate risk analytics, to support their clients in meeting climate related requirements such as regulatory reporting of emissions data, tracking alignment to climate goals (Net Zero) and stress testing among many others.
LSEG Net Zero Conversations: Heathrow 2.0 - a Focused Approach to Removing Carbon from Aviation
15 June 2022
Javier Echave, Chief Financial Officer at Heathrow, speaks to Jane Goodland, Head of Sustainability at LSEG, in the first of our Net Zero Conversations. Echave outlines Heathrow’s net zero strategy, the importance and history of sustainable aviation fuel, how realistic it is that the aviation industry can decarbonize, and how governments can help.
Borsa Kuwait: Impact of ESG - SDG Workshop
21 June 2022
Boursa Kuwait partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to organize a workshop around impactful implementation and reporting of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles and integrating them with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Euronext announces its Science-Based Climate Targets Supporting its Fit for 1.5° commitment
28 June 2022
Euronext announced its science-based climate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with the Paris Agreement, based on the framework provided by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)1. These targets support Euronext’s recently announced Fit for 1.5° commitment to net zero through the Business Ambition for 1.5° initiative in partnership with the United Nations Climate Change Race to Zero campaign.
Nasdaq: Climate Impact X Selects Nasdaq Technology to Power New Global Carbon Exchange
28 June 2022
Nasdaq and Climate Impact X (CIX), a global marketplace and exchange for quality carbon credits, announced a strategic technology partnership that will help unlock price transparency and liquidity in the voluntary carbon market. The agreement will see CIX leverage Nasdaq’s robust matching technology to power its spot trading platform, which will launch in early 2023 for financial institutions and institutional investors worldwide.
LuxSE named Stock Exchange of the Year by Environmental Finance
29 June 2022
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) has been granted the ‘Stock Exchange of the Year’ award by Environmental Finance as part of the Sustainable Investment Awards 2022, with the winners of the different categories officially unveiled.
Thought Leadership Paper on Sustainable Investing, Africa: JSE
29 June 2022
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) last year launched its Sustainability and Climate Change Disclosure Guidance consultation papers to assist companies navigating the sustainability disclosure landscape, bringing together global best practice and local context relevance.
FTSE Russell: ESG index provider of the year by Environmental Finance
29 June 2022
FTSE Russell has been developing sustainable investment index solutions across asset classes to suit the changing needs of investors and the regulatory landscape. The subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group has developed sustainable investment indexes in listed equities, real estate and sovereign debt. It is helping investors calibrate indexes to achieve their ESG objectives.
REGULATOR AND STANDARD SETTER NEWS
DBG: Greening the Economy - Sustainable Securities Lending, Repo & Green Bonds
03 June 2022
Clearstream, part of Deutsche Börse Group, welcomes the Co-founder and CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, Sean Kidney, for a lively and wide-ranging conversation about the vital role green bonds and green finance will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change. This episode gives some insights into the scale of the challenge, and the huge progress being made so far. The topic in particular, will also play a key role in a panel debate at our upcoming GFF Summit, taking place in Luxembourg from 13 to 15 September 2022.
Climate Crisis Demands Market Transformation—But First, Standardization
03 June 2022
As the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) prescribes in its latest report, rescuing ourselves from global climate catastrophe requires one bold remedy: urgent, public policy-driven market transformation. Perhaps no public policy intervention has greater potential to drive this standardization than the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent proposal to require that public companies make standardized climate-risk disclosures.
PRI: How Policy Makers can Implement Reforms for a Sustainable Financial System – part 2
13 June 2022
PRI’s Implementation guide for sustainable investment policy and regulation tools provides guidance on the design and implementation of sustainable finance taxonomies. It covers the following steps: initial policy analysis and scoping, policy design phase, implementation, monitoring and review. The paper also contains case studies of taxonomies around the world.
US SEC: Diversity and Inclusion in Regulated Entities
13 June 2022
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) encourages financial services firms and organizations regulated by the SEC to use the Joint Standards for Assessing Diversity Policies and Practices Regulated by the Agencies to develop or strengthen programs for promoting diversity and inclusion in their organizations. The Joint Standards were established by federal financial regulatory agencies through an interagency policy statement, and reflect leading practices for advancing workforce diversity and inclusion and supplier diversity.
15 June 2022
The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) has developed a draft framework for financial institutions to catalyze action and specify concrete steps and holistic business strategy changes as part of the transition to a net-zero future. This Net-zero Transition Plan framework for financial institutions is now open for public consultation until 27 July 2022.
GRI: Encouraging progress on EU standards – with Deeper Alignment the Next Steps
20 June 2022
Following the publication of the exposure drafts of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in April – hailed by GRI as a necessary step to achieving the EU Green Deal – an analysis of the ESRS against the widely used GRI Standards is now available. The technical mapping is GRI’s formal contribution to the public consultation on the first set of ESRS drafts, conducted by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG).
PRI: An introduction to Responsible Investment: Climate Metrics
27 June 2022
This introductory guide provides a brief overview of climate metrics that are currently widely used by investors, based on PRI reporting data and asset managers’ public climate disclosures. The purpose of the guide is to highlight current market practice; it does not recommend the climate-related metrics that investors should disclose. This guide is for asset owner employees with limited or no prior knowledge of climate metrics.
28 June 2022
The Green Bond Principles (GBP), Social Bond Principles (SBP), Sustainability Bond Guidelines (SBG) and Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles (SLBP) - the global standard for a $2.4 trillion market, representing the largest source of market finance dedicated to sustainability and climate transition available internationally to corporates, banks and sovereigns - announce new and updated publications including new definitions for green securitisation, updated key performance indicators for Sustainability-Linked Bonds and new resources for climate transition finance.
CSE, SEC, and the CFA Society SL aim to strengthen ESG Focus in the Sri Lankan Capital Market
28 June 2022
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC), the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the CFA Society Sri Lanka (CFASSL) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further strengthen Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) focus in the Sri Lankan capital market. The MoU will enable the institutions to jointly deliver initiatives focused on educating local investors on ESG and fostering effective ESG practices and communication by Listed Companies.
FCA: ESG integration in UK Capital Markets
29 June 2022
A summary about the feedback to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) discussion chapter (in CP21/18) on environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration in UK capital markets and set out our potential next steps.
ESG INDICES AND PRODUCTS
JPX set the Terms and Conditions for the First Digital Green Bonds in Japan
01 June 2022
Japan Exchange Group announced its decision to issue the 1st Digitally Tracked Green Bonds which are the first green bonds in Japan that will use a digital scheme that is currently being developed to provide greater convenience and will reflect the opinions offered by investors through this issuance in developing the functions of the Digitally Tracked Green Bonds and enhancing the system.
Toronto Stock Exchange Announces Launch of S&P/TSX Battery Metals Index
02 June 2022
S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the collaboration with Toronto Stock Exchange on the development and launch of the S&P/TSX Battery Metals Index which are significant inputs in the decarbonization of the transportation sector. S&P DJI's partnership with TMX Group spans more than two decades and we are proud of our shared commitment to offering independent, innovative and transparent market gauges that reflect the move towards renewable energy and the growing demand for clean technologies.
BME admits a new 500 million euro Green Bond from ICO
06 June 2022
BME's AIAF Market has admitted to trading a new 500 million euro Green Bond issued by Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO). The issue, which is aimed at financing sustainable projects from Spanish companies that boost ecological transition, matures in October 2026 and has a coupon of 1.30%. This is the second issue to be repatriated to Spain by ICO under its bonds programme.
BME admits a New Sustainable Bond from the Andalusian Regional Government for 500 million euros
13 June 2022
BME's AIAF Market has admitted a new 500 million euro sustainable bond issued by the Andalusian Regional Government. The issue, which is the third to be launched by the Andalusian Government under its Sustainable Financing Framework approved in March last year, features an annual coupon of 2.40% and a ten-year maturity.
ICE Climate Indices: Helping Progress toward Net Zero
22 June 2022
In response to market demand for investment in benchmarks that take account of climate factors, ICE Data Indices has launched the Corporate Bond Climate Indices (“Climate Index Series” or “Climate Indices”), a new series that includes six alternative climate index variants for each of 23 standard corporate bond parent indices, offering 138 indices in total.
Enel launches a New Model for Assessing Value Creation
28 June, 2022
The ENEL STAKECAP model was introduced in 2021 and goes beyond profitability targets and traditional financial indicators, such as net income and free cash flow, to consider the company’s wider effects on society and the environment. The model Enel proposes adopts new financial metrics, concepts of value creation and its distribution to stakeholders, and an evolving set of indicators that address the needs of the various players, in addition to measuring the company’s related actions.
GENDER EQUALITY
SET: Women play a Greater Role on Thai Listed Companies' Board of Directors
07 June 2022
Key highlights according to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), the number of women on boards and top ranks of Thai listed firms has risen. Women shared 21.02% of listed firms' total board seats in 2020, up from 20.72% in 2019.
BME: The IBEX® Gender Equality Index adds 17 New Companies and Already Comprises 45 Constituents
09 June 2022
The Technical Advisory Committee has approved the inclusion of 17 new companies in the IBEX® Gender Equality as of June 20, bringing the total number of listed companies that meet the gender diversity criteria to 45. The review was carried with data published by the Spanish stock market supervisor – CNMV - on the presence of women and men in decision-making bodies of Spanish listed companies.
29 June 2022
This report examines the aggregate results of companies using the Women's Empowerment Principles Gender Gap Analysis Tool with an aim to provide insights on global and regional corporate performance on gender equality and showcase the efforts of partners and other stakeholders to drive women's empowerment around the world.
