The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative is launching a new workstream to support exchanges in providing guidance to issuers on climate disclosure. The SSE’s Partner Exchanges and key stakeholders are invited to participate in the SSE’s Advisory Group on Climate Disclosure. The new workstream will assist stock exchanges in developing best practice reporting guidance for issuers to ensure globally consistent disclosures incorporating the recommendations from the FSB Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

This new project is being conducted under the auspices of Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, in collaboration with our Co-Chairs for this Advisory Group, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

"We're happy to be partnering with Mark Carney and David Schwimmer, CEO of London Stock Exchange Group, building on the success of our Model Guidance campaign. We encourage SSE Partner Exchanges and stakeholders to join this new SSE project on climate disclosure to help advance investment in sustainable development,” said James Zhan, UNCTAD Director of Investment and Enterprise and Chair of the SSE Governing Board.

On 8th July, Mark Carney and David Schwimmer, CEO LSEG, sent an invitation letter for a proposed global coalition of Stock Exchanges that will commit to supporting climate disclosure, in line with the TCFD recommendations.

Writing in the letter, David Schwimmer & Mark Carney noted that “Together stock exchanges can mobilise global capital markets to address climate change and support a sustainable transition; by coordinating action amongst corporate issuers and investors globally, and aligning with TCFD as the global framework, we can advance more rapidly towards net zero”.

“We ask that you join us in partnering with the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative, which will create a workstream on TCFD model reporting guidance for issuers.”

How to join the SSE Advisory Group on Climate Disclosure

The Advisory Group on Climate Disclosure is open to SSE Partner Exchanges, Observers, and key stakeholders (including members of the SSE’s Regulator, Investor and Corporate Working Groups). The goal of this Advisory Group to create a model guidance on climate disclosure based on existing standards and frameworks. If you would like to join the SSE Advisory Group on Climate Disclosure, please contact us at [email protected].

The work of this advisory group will run from September 2020 to approximately June 2021 and the output will feature at the next UN Climate Summit (COP 26) to be held in 2021.

The SSE initiative, along with nearly 100 investors, gathered at the London Stock Exchange for the market open on 8 September 2015 to officially launch the SSE’s new resource for exchanges: the Model Guidance on Reporting ESG Information to Investors.

SSE Model Guidance on Reporting ESG Information

The new project builds upon the successful SSE campaign for ESG disclosure. In September 2015 when the SSE launched its Model Guidance for exchanges, only 14 stock exchanges around the world were providing guidance on reporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) information for their markets. Today 55 stock exchanges have published such guidance.

More information can be found in the SSE ESG Guidance Database which contains a comprehensive list of all stock exchange ESG guidance documents in the world and includes an analysis of major ESG reporting instruments referenced in stock exchange guidance documents.