Yerevan, Armenia | October 2026 – The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative (UN SSE) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) made exchange action centre stage at the United Nation Biodiversity Summit COP17, launching a new guide for stock exchanges on nature. The publication, “How Exchanges Can Integrate Nature Into Markets” was launched at an event co-organized by the UN SSE and TNFD, together with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the United Nations Environmental Program’s Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI).
The event titled “From Risk to Opportunity: How Stock Exchanges Can Mainstream Nature in Capital Markets,” brought together the representatives from the full capital market system to illustrate the convening power and reach that exchanges have as central players of the capital market system. The Action Plan was developed in collaboration with the TNFD and with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI). The report was informed by an international multi-stakeholder advisory group of 65 experts from 39 countries, co-chaired by Aupa Monyatsi, CEO of the Botswana Stock Exchange, and Benoît van den Hove, CEO of Euronext Brussels, bringing together representatives of stock exchanges, regulators, investors and international experts.
“The Botswana Stock Exchange believes that exchanges have an important responsibility to help their markets respond to the rapid degradation of nature and biodiversity. Beyond providing an avenue for raising and trading capital, capital markets can promote transparency, build market capability, convene participants and help direct capital towards sustainable development,” said Aupa Monyatsi, CEO of the Botswana Stock Exchange in his forward to the publication. “It is an honour for the BSE to co-chair the SSE Advisory Group on Nature that supported this action plan. The plan provides exchanges with an accessible starting point for identifying where they can exercise the greatest influence, within their organisations, across their markets and through the products and infrastructure they support.”
“Euronext has actively integrated nature into broader sustainable finance activities through practical guidance on biodiversity and natural capital disclosures, drawing on TNFD and ESRS, and indices addressing biodiversity, water and ocean-related themes,” said Benoît van den Hove, CEO of Euronext Brussels in his forward to the report. “Euronext Brussels is delighted to co-chair the SSE Advisory Group on Nature supporting this action plan. We welcome this publication as a valuable contribution to resilient capital markets and to mobilising capital for the protection, restoration and sustainable use of nature.”
As part of the TNFD’S “Hive” program alongside COP17 in Armenia, the event explored how stock exchanges can use their unique position at the center of capital markets to help integrate nature-related considerations into market practices, alongside climate. Through listing rules, disclosure guidance, market products, data services and capacity building, exchanges can reach companies, investors, regulators and other market participants, helping translate global sustainability frameworks into practical action.
The session featured opening remarks from Tony Goldner, CEO of TNFD, and a keynote address by Aupa Monyatsi, CEO of the Botswana Stock Exchange and Co-Chair of the UN SSE Advisory Group on Nature. The opening speakers set the scene creating a clear picture of the role of nature in financial systems and capital markets.
“Nature is at the core of our existence. It is totally integrated, whether we like it or not, and it is a fundamental component of financial resilience,” said Aupa Monyatsi in his keynote address.
This was followed by a panel discussion Moderated by Tiffany Grabski, Head of the SSE Academy, the panel brought together exchange leadership alongside other key actors in the capital market system including listed companies (represented by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development or WBCSD), the investor community (represented by Natixis Asset Managers) and the broader financial landscape represented by the Federation of Euro-Asian Capital Markets (FEAS) and UNEP-FI, Panelists included:
- Aupa Monyatsi, CEO, Botswana Stock Exchange
- Hakob Vardanyan, Chief Business Development Officer, Armenia Stock Exchange
- Lu Hui, Executive Vice president, Shenzhen Stock Exchange
- Konstantin Saroyan, Secretary General, FEAS
- Mardi McBrien, Senior Director, WBCSD
- Lamia Chouiten, Global Chief Sustainability Officer, Natixis Asset Managers
- Jessica Smith, Head of Nature, UNEP-FI
Panelists shared how exchanges are already integrating nature and what more can be done, highlighting in particular the important role of visibility and capacity building. The panel discussion was then warped up with closing remarks from Sue Lloyd, Vice Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The closing remarks highlighted the essential role of exchanges and applauded the impressive capacity building work that has taken place via the SSE Academy with stock exchanges globally educating on the ISSB Standards. She noted that over 26,000 market participants have already been trained by stock exchanges hosting training on the ISSB Standards (IFRS S1 and IFRS S2). Sue Lloyed closed with a call to action, encouraging all stock exchanges to make use of this new publication, launched in a timely manner only a day after the ISSB released its Practice Statement on Nature.
The launch of the Action Plan marked an important step in the SSE's work to support exchanges in responding to nature-related financial risks and opportunities. Building on existing international frameworks and emerging market practices, the publication provides a practical, flexible roadmap that exchanges and regulators can adapt to their own markets.
The Action Plan identifies four interconnected areas for action:
- Establish: Lead by example and build strong foundations for nature action within exchange operations, governance and strategy.
- Activate: Advance nature awareness, dialogue and transparency by engaging market participants and supporting high-quality disclosure.
- Enable: Support nature-related market development through credible financial products, services and market infrastructure.
- Educate: Strengthen the knowledge and capacity of market participants to understand, assess and respond to nature-related issues.
DOWNLOAD THE FREE ACTION PLAN HERE
Recognizing that exchanges operate in different regulatory environments and stages of market development, the Action Plan does not prescribe a single pathway. Instead, it provides a menu of actions that exchanges can prioritize according to their mandate, resources, market readiness and national circumstances. The publication also draws on practical examples from exchanges around the world, demonstrating how existing sustainable finance tools and market infrastructure can be adapted to support nature-related objectives.
The event highlighted the complementary roles of practical guidance, market leadership and capacity building in advancing implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly its objectives relating to the integration of biodiversity into decision-making, corporate disclosure and mobilization of finance.
The UN SSE partnership with TNFD also includes its Model Guidance on Nature-related Financial Disclosures and the SSE Academy’s live online market education delivered with exchanges around the world. In the past twelve months, the SSE Academy has trained over 4,600 market participants on the TNFD’s recommendations on nature-related assessment, management and disclosure, in collaboration with SSE partner exchanges.
If your organisation would like to partner with the SSE to promote sustainable development through capital markets, contact us here. To stay informed about future training sessions, events or other SSE-related news subscribe to the SSE mailing list.