.jpg)
The World Federation of Exchanges (“WFE”), which represents more than 200 market infrastructure providers including exchanges and CCPs, today released its second global Environment, Social and Governance (“ESG”) survey.
Highlights of the survey include:
- More than 90% of responding exchanges have an ESG, or sustainability, programme in place, primarily focused on education initiatives for issuers and/or investors, but also including products such as ‘green bonds’;
- Nearly 100% of respondents believe they should monitor the long-term sustainability of their listed companies, and actively participate in developing better ESG reporting metrics;
- Growing number of respondents (over 50% compared with 30% in 2014) are including ESG disclosures as part of their own reporting framework.
“What is particularly striking about these results is the mainstreaming of sustainability within exchanges,” said Nandini Sukumar, Chief Executive Officer, WFE. “WFE exchanges are now actively engaged in promoting the long-term health and development of their markets, and recognise the important role they can play in financing a sustainable real economy.”
Siobhan Cleary, Head of Research & Public Policy, WFE added: “The ESG agenda is continuing to converge more closely with financial markets, with high-profile initiatives such as Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) and the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure. This confluence can also be seen clearly in our survey results, with 85% of respondents confirming that some form of ESG disclosure was required in their market.”
Other notable highlights in the 19-page report include more than 75% of responding exchanges commenting that they plan to list sustainability-related instruments in the near future, as a direct result of increasing investor demand. In addition, the survey ranks the top seven reasons for introducing ESG initiatives.
This annual survey is conducted by the WFE, and is compiled from questionnaire responses supplied by exchanges and their clearinghouses.
