The UN SSE, together with its partners, developed this toolkit to support stock exchanges and their market participants in the implementation of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The toolkit includes training tools that are designed to complement the SSE Academy’s training program on the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The SSE will continue to work with its partners to add new tools as necessary to provide ongoing support to stock exchanges and their markets on this topic.
The Tools
SSE Model Guidance Publications
To help stock exchanges provide their markets with guidance on disclosure, the SSE has developed a series of templates referred to as a “Model Guidance” that exchanges can freely copy/paste and adapt for their local market circumstances. The benefit of using the SSE Model Guidance as a starting point is that it ensures that markets around the world are receiving globally consistent guidance that are adapted where needed to suit unique market circumstances at the local level. Exchanges can make use of the following Model Guidance documents.
Model Guidance on Sustainability-Related Financial Disclosures – Following the launch of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, the SSE and the IFRS Foundation developed a new Model Guidance for exchanges wishing to provide voluntary guidance on these new global baseline standards. The guidance has been reviewed by the IFRS International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and exchanges have been encouraged by the ISSB to utilise this guidance as an educational and capacity building resource for their markets. The document is available in Word format to facilitate the copying of the text. Note that the IFRS Foundation permits stock exchanges to reproduce the material in this guidance, provided that the educational material is available free of charge.
Model Guidance on Climate-Related Disclosures – Following the launch of the Financial Stability Board’s task force on climate-related financial disclosures (TCFD) this guidance was developed in 2021 by an advisory group of more than 100 capital market stakeholders. In order to assist stock exchanges in their efforts to guide issuers on climate-related disclosure, this guidance includes two parts. First, an introduction on how and why to use this guidance for stock exchanges; and secondly, a template guide and diagnostic checklist that stock exchanges can utilize to develop guidance on climate-related disclosure for issuers. Exchanges providing markets with guidance specifically on climate-related disclosures will find guidance here on disclosure diagnosis and the climate context, integration of climate-related risks and opportunities and disclosure practices and data management.
Model Guidance on ESG Disclosure – The SSE’s first Model Guidance was developed in 2015 by a working group of nearly 90 capital market stakeholders, chaired by the London Stock Exchange Group. This guidance is a voluntary tool for stock exchanges to guide issuers on how to report on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Following the launch of this Model Guidance, the number of stock exchanges providing voluntary guidance to markets on ESG-related disclosures more than trippled. This guidance provides a high-level overview of key concepts and topics for exchanges getting started on these topics. It can be used together with the SSE’s database on stock exchange ESG Guidance documents, which provides relevant examples from around the world.
Training Tools
SSE Training Tools have been developed to support stock exchange’s capacity building activities, based on the SSE Academy’s training programs. These tools provide introductory guidance on key concepts. They are based on questions recieved from participants of the SSE’s training with stock exchanges. The SSE will continue to work with partners to develop new training tools and will add them here when completed.
Transition Plans Training Tool – This tool has been developed as a part of SSE’s Toolkit on Sustainability-Related Financial Disclosures, given that transition plans are identified by the IFRS S2 for climate-related disclosures as an important component of strategy disclosures. It provides a brief overview of what transition plans are, how they relate to the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, and the key source of guidance on using and disclosing transition plans.
Climate Metrics Training Tool – This tool has been developed as a part of SSE’s Toolkit on Sustainability-Related Financial Disclosures to provide report preparers with an overview of the cross-industry metrics required in IFRS S2 for climate-related disclosures. In addition, this tool provides report users with an introduction to GHG emissions, including key concepts, measurements and disaggregation techniques.
Gap analysis checklist – This tool has been developed as a part of SSE’s Toolkit on Sustainability-Related Financial Disclosures to help report preparers as they identify what elements of the IFRS S1 and S2 standards are missing in their current disclosures and chart a pathway for implementation of the standards. The tool includes two checklists, one for disclosure content and another for disclosure quality.
Disclosure strategy homework assignment – This homework assignment has been designed to be used alongside the SSE’s training program on the ISSB’s Standards. While a reporting strategy is not a requirement of these standards it can help a company to plan its activities and ensure effective application of the standards. This assignment aims to help workshop participants think through the various components of a disclosure strategy.
Free online training, hosted by SSE Partner Exchanges
The SSE Academy provides stock exchanges with globally consistent, high-quality, expert-led training to support exchange’s educational efforts on sustainability-related topics. Exchanges can host training for their market by reaching out to the SSE to book a training.
Topic: Applying the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards
Learning time: 3.5 hours live training + homework exercise
Partners: IFC, IFRS Foundation
Status: Ongoing
Find out more details about this CPD-certified training program. If you would like to join one of our training sessions, please contact your local stock exchange and request that they host training for their market.
SSE’s ESG Guidance Database
The SSE maintains a database of all guidance documents provided by stock exchanges for listed companies so that other stock exchanges can learn from their peers. All guidance documents can be found here, or on the fact sheet of individual stock exchanges. The SSE also keeps track of those exchanges that have not yet listed guidance, and can offer donor-funded technical assistance or facilitate peer exchanges to those working on developing their guidance.
Technical Assistance
The SSE works with stock exchanges to advance climate action in their markets through donor-sponsored technical assistance. For more information, please contact the SSE team directly.
Testimonials
"We applaud the SSE and encourage all stock exchanges to utilise the SSE Model Guidance when guiding their listed entities on the application of the ISSB Standards.
The SSE Model Guidance is freely available, which supports emerging market access and works to level the playing field. This is brought to life through proportionality mechanisms, included in IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, that make entry fair for entities, including smaller entities. It addresses a varying range of capabilities and preparedness of companies that apply ISSB Standards."
Jingdong Hua
Vice Chair, ISSB, IFRS Foundation (2023)
"One of the most fundamental contributions made by the SSE has been their development of written guidance for markets on vital issues. Member exchanges have been a core part of this process, which has also allowed them to increase their own knowledge and capacity in often cutting-edge areas irrespective of their size or level of development."
Nicky Newton-King
Johannesburg Stock Exchange CEO (2019)
"We were delight to host this important workshop on applying the new IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. Participants at the event from our market really benefited from the depth of experience and expertise of the superb trainers who explained the concepts and shared their knowledge in a very practical way."
Daryl Byrne
CEO, Euronext Dublin (2023)
Donnor Support
This training program has been made possible through the financial contributions made by SSE Official Supporters and through major project donors. If your organization is interested in funding a training program with the UN SSE initiative to activate the SSE Academy’s global network, contact the SSE team.
Major Projects Supporters
Mission Projects Supporters
Become an Official Supporter of the SSE
If your organisation would like to become an SSE Official Supporter, please reach out directly to the SSE team.
If you would like to become a Major Projects Supporter, the SSE team will set up a call with you to discuss project details and funding opportunities. It is common to fund an existing project that has no resource allocation yet, but it is also possible to discuss new areas of collaboration.
If you would like to join our group of Mission Supporters, we will send you a personalised invoice for 10,000 USD. As soon as we have received the funds, we will add your logo to our list of Official Supporters and share with you your Official SSE Supporter logo.
We will also ask for a quote from your organisation to use on our Official Supporters website to showcase your participation in the Official Supporters programme. If you are already a UN SSE member, we will link your logo to your factsheet, so that your exchange’s page gets more visibility. If you are a non-exchange stakeholder, we will ask you to fill in a short questionnaire, so that we can introduce your organisation or company to our network and show what role you play in supporting sustainable finance.
Benefits of supporting the SSE
The SSE is the largest network to communicate exchanges’ sustainability activities in various ways, including:
- Direct communication with policymakers: As an initiative launched by the UN Secretary-General, the SSE regularly convenes policymakers from securities regulators to ministers of finance to communicate the challenges and successes of exchanges in promoting sustainable finance.
- UN flagship reports: Trends and updates on stock exchange sustainability efforts are featured annually in the United Nations World Investment Report.
- SSE Academy: The SSE provides market education programmes at no cost to exchanges to assist them in their efforts to keep market participants up to date on the latest standards and trends in ESG disclosure and sustainable finance.
- Online database: The SSE maintains the largest online database of stock exchange ESG activities. This is the most visited page on the SSE website and widely used as the authoritative source for exchange activities on sustainable finance.
- SSE events: The SSE organises its flagship event which happens every two years, the SSE Global Dialogue, as well as other national or regional events. We also work with stock exchanges to assist them in the development of their own events and workshops and we organise sessions at other global forums such as the UN Climate Conferences (COPs).
- Social media: SSE tweets have received over 1 million impressions and our Linkedin page has over 3,300 followers.
- Newsletter: Approximately 3,000 subscribers receive a monthly highlights newsletter covering stock exchange and securities regulator sustainability activities
- “Exchange in Focus”: Articles published on the SSE website highlight your exchange’s or organisation’s leadership and enable exchanges to illustrate their sustainability action on the ground.
- Bespoke guidance and support for exchange leadership and executives on key sustainability-related topics.
In addition to enabling the SSE to strengthen and broaden its activities in providing technical assistance, research, and consensus-building activities for its members, SSE Mission and Major Project Supporters also receive a number of unique benefits:
- Official recognition of your status as an SSE Official Supporter on the SSE website.
- Major Projects Supporters who are funding a database, publication or event, will have their logo and or name appear on the relevant page and or product.
- Official Supporters will be recognized through a number of the SSE’s media platforms including social media and in its monthly newsletter. In addition, your logo will be shown at the end of every SSE Quarterly Webinar
- Members of the Official Supporters program will have the first opportunity to reserve a seat at an SSE event and will be offered speaking opportunities at most SSE events and other activities. This includes the Global Dialogue and the UN Climate Conference. We will also invite your CEO to be interviewed for SSE TV (in-person at our studio on the NYSE trading floor or virtually).
- A yearly impact report will be shared with all SSE’s Official Supporters combined with an annual consultation call to share SSE work plans, results and impacts.
