(11 November 2024) On the occasion of COP29, the United Nation climate conference, the UN SSE, the IFRS Foundation and the IFC celebrate the one year mark since the start of their joint capacity building program on climate disclosure. Since the launch of this joint capacity-building program 1 year ago, the organizations have trained over 12,000 market participants around the world. The joint capacity building program leverages the global reach of the UN SSE’s network of stock exchanges, the IFC’s local offices and local expertise, combined with the IFRS Foundation’s authoritative knowledge of their standards.

“Building awareness, understanding and capacity for the implementation of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards is crucial to enabling capital markets to understand how sustainability-related risks and opportunities effect the performance and prospects of companies. Our thanks to the UN SSE and IFC for their leadership and partnership which has enabled us to provide training to market participants across the globe,” said Jingdong Hua, ISSB Vice-Chair. 

“This program is a critical step in the practical adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, helping to accelerate their implementation across global markets. Our joint training program builds the much-needed capacity to facilitate the use of these standards by thousands of companies around the world. We applaud the support of SSE Partner Exchanges worldwide who have hosted this training for their market participants,” said Mr. Anthony Miller, Chief Coordinator, UN SSE. “This collaborative effort exemplifies our commitment to enhancing global capacity for investment in sustainable development.” added Mr. Miller.

"Corporate governance and adequate sustainability reporting play a crucial role in driving sustainability and climate action. By aligning with global standards and enhancing disclosure and transparency, companies can effectively manage climate risks and opportunities, attract investment, and contribute to a low-carbon future. Through IFC’s capacity-building programs and partnerships with the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative and the IFRS Foundation, IFC is helping companies to improve their governance practices and enhance climate disclosure. This enables corporate leadership to make better informed decisions and drive positive change in emerging markets. IFC extends our sincere gratitude to our partners for their collaboration,” said Charles Canfield, Manager, Corporate Governance, International Finance Corporation.

Since it's launch, the program successfully conducted 39 training workshops, collaborating with 26 prominent stock exchanges and various organizations including the World Bank, regional exchange associations, and accounting groups. The training reached a broad audience, with sessions held in 31 emerging markets and 8 developed markets, amounting to 134 hours of collaborative live training. The workshops (conducted in multiple languages including Chinese, English, Portuguese and Spanish) enhanced participants’ understanding and implementation of the IFRS S1 and S2 standards for disclosing sustainability-related financial information. 

The program's impact is evidenced not only by the number of participants but also by their engagement; over 80% of attendees remained for at least two hours of the 3.5-hour sessions. Additionally, half of the participants completed a feedback survey, earning a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certificate, which underscores the high value they placed on the training. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with 95% of participants indicating that they improved their knowledge on sustainability-related financial disclosures through this workshop.

Among the stock exchanges that have played a pivotal role in hosting these workshops are:

• Australia, Australia Stock Exchange (ASX)
• Botswana, Botswana Stock Exchange
• Brazil, B3
• China, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX)
• Egypt, The Egyptian Exchange (EGX)
• Ghana, Ghana Stock Exchange
• Greece, Athens Stock Exchange (Athex)
• Iran, Tehran Stock Exchange
• Ireland, Euronext Dublin
• Jordan, Amman Stock Exchange
• Kuwait, Boursa Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz Stock Exchange
• Lesotho, Maseru Securities Market
• Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia
• Mexico, Bolsa Institucional de Valores (BIVA)
• Oman, Muscat Exchange
• Pakistan, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)
• Qatar, Qatar Stock Exchange
• Saudi Arabia, Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul)
• Singapore, Singapore Exchange
• South Africa, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)
• Spain, Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), a SIX company
• Switzerland, Swiss SIX
• Tanzania, Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange
• United Kingdom, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
• USA, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

The UN SSE, through the SSE Academy, has trained over 35,000 market participants on sustainability-related topics since its launch in 2021. 

Ms. Tiffany Grabski, SSE Academy Head added, “Over the past year of training on IFRS S1 and S2 standards, we’ve answered more than 1,000 questions from participants which gives  us a unique insight into a market's frequently asked questions, and the key issues requiring further capacity building support. So while the SSE Academy is disseminating knowledge to the market, we are also collecting a lot of data in return on specific knowledge gaps and the general level of technical capacity in a market.”

Ms. Grabski added, “We’ve also been able to identify certain key groups of participants that make use of this free capacity building opportunity. For example, we’ve seen a significant number of C-suite corporate leaders and board members who are keenly interested in learning more about this topic. And through our specialized training of banks, which we do with additional support from our colleagues at UNEP-FI, we see that the financial sector has ongoing capacity building needs as well.” 

Ralitza Germanova, Corporate Governance Officer, Lead, Beyond the Balance Sheet Program, International Finance Corporation said, “In partnership with the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative and IFRS Foundation, IFC is driving impactful change in emerging markets through our joint capacity building program on applying the ISSB standards.  We are grateful for the collaboration and support of UNSSE and IFRS Foundation in this endeavor. By promoting sustainability and climate reporting, we are empowering companies, regulators, and stock exchanges to enhance disclosure practices and meet investor demands for sound ESG data. Through this program, we are making a tangible impact in emerging markets, fostering transparency, and advancing the ESG agenda.” 

The UN SSE looks forward to continuing to work with the IFRS Foundation and IFC, as well as our other partners like UNEP-FI, to enhance capacity and distribute knowledge to the capital market participants that need it the most. 

All the training sessions were delivered at no cost to the stock exchanges and no cost to the participants. The work of the SSE Academy is made possible by the contributions of donors including IFC (World Bank), Bloomberg Philanthropies and SSE Official Supporters. If your organization would like to learn more about how you can support the acceleration of sustainable finance around the world please contact the SSE team.