(14 October 2019)     Continuing its efforts to promote transparency in its market, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE), a member of the SSE initiative since 2016 and a leading exchange in the area of green bonds, has published a new set of guidelines for reporting ESG information to investors.

The LuxSE Guide to ESG Reporting serves as a compass for users when identifying ESG activities and defining an ESG strategy. The guide also covers the process for data collection and processing and offers advice for establishing the most suitable reporting format, communication channels and reporting period.

“We are in a period of great transition. While some organisations are already on their way to fully integrating ESG at the core of their businesses, others are only starting to get their minds around the concept,” LuxSE CEO Robert Scharfe writes in the Introduction to the guide. “The role of stock exchanges in this process is, and will continue to be, incredibly important. We must embrace this role head on by encouraging issuers and investors to consider ESG aspects as an opportunity, promoting their efforts to comply with best market practices and giving investors clarity and trust.”

“Today, we applaud the Luxembourg Stock Exchange for their commitment to promoting sustainability and transparency from issuers across the entire capital market spectrum,” James Zhan, Chair of the SSE Board and Director of Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD writes in the Foreword to the guide. “This guidance demonstrates how stock exchanges can contribute to sustainable development and help to tackle the twenty-first century’s biggest sustainability challenges.”

The guide addresses the specific scope and needs of three main stakeholders in its diverse market ecosystem: listed companies, issuers of sustainable debt instruments, and asset managers active in sustainable & responsible investment funds. The Guide to ESG Reporting seeks to illustrate how different stakeholders can proceed to meet investor demand for transparent and clear ESG information.

LuxSE’s new guide credits the SSE’s “Model Guidance on Reporting ESG Information to Investors” as inspiration. Since the launch of the SSE’s Model Guidance and global campaign to promote such stock exchange guidance, 33 stock exchanges around the world have introduced guidance on ESG disclosure. The SSE keeps a complete inventory of these guidance documents on its website and provides technical advice to stock exchanges wishing to introduce their own guidance to issuers.