Building on their cooperation agreement, the UN SSE initiative supported a series of workshops for training partners hosted by the International Financial Corporation (IFC). The two day event provided participants with an overview of key trends in disclosure and corporate governance and trained them on tools and resources they can use to support companies’ environmental, social and governance activities. 

Local intermediaries play a critical role in encouraging good corporate governance and transparency by developing and promoting sustainability requirements that reflect international best practices adapted to emerging markets and regional priorities. In this respect, IFC has established a long-standing network of local partners in emerging markets (ranging from consultancy firms to regulators and stock exchanges and networks like the UN SSE) that may help in meeting the above aim. 

Emphasizing the important role that stock exchanges play in supporting ESG advancements,  Anthony Miller (Coordinator, UN SSE) and Tiffany Grabski (Lead, UN SSE Academy) led a discussion on collaboration with stock exchanges and regulators. 

“Stock exchanges play an important role in market education, assisting listed companies in gaining the necessary skills to meet listing requirements, investor expectations and international best practice. The UN SSE, working with IFC, is leveraging the market education function of exchanges around the world to deliver training to thousands of issuers on high-quality climate disclosure,” said Anthony Miller. 

Disclosure and transparency (D&T) are critical for attracting capital and building resilient enterprises in emerging markets. Transparent corporate reporting, integrating financial and sustainability information, increases trust and confidence for investors and other stakeholders as it provides critical insights into how companies manage their operations and make decisions relevant to pursuing opportunities and managing risks. Disclosure and transparency may also shed light on how companies create different types of long-term value, including contributions to addressing societal crises, such as the current pandemic.  

The UN SSE, IFC and CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) also provided participants with training on climate disclosure. The training session, adapted from the training the three organizations offer virtually, aimed to provide participants with a basic understanding of the four core pillars of climate disclosure - governance, strategy, risk management and metrics and targets. All three organizations emphasized the importance of starting with these four pillars regardless of size, and highlighted a number of reporting guidelines that have since built on these pillars such as the Task Force on Nature Related Disclosure for biodiversity as well as the IFRS’ International Sustainability Standards Board’s sustainability and climate disclosure exposure drafts.