The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has issued a landmark set of ESG disclosure guidelines for listed companies on the bourse.
The launch of the 31 KPIs is part of the ADX strategy to boost economic growth while providing a sustainable trading environment and encouraging the market to adopt societal sustainability practices.
The standards aim to radically enhance ADX’s competitiveness and attract more responsible investments to the Emirate in line with the recommendations of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the Global Reporting Initiative and the International Integrated Reporting Framework.
The guidance also aims to ensure ADX continues to make a major contribution toward promoting sustainability in financial markets, in alignment with the UAE National Vision 2021 and the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, both of which outline approaches to develop appropriate infrastructure while preserving a sustainable and knowledge-based economy.
It is hoped this will open the way for $83 tn in asset allocation from various asset management funds to be directed to companies that apply ESG standards.
The ADX notes that the investment community often interprets the lack of disclosure of key sustainability indicators as a signal that a company may not be able to mitigate the risks of sustainability or seize opportunities. It also highlights its importance in terms of enhancing the competitiveness of companies by understanding the needs of stakeholders in the company to boost market competitiveness.
Khalifa Salem Al Mansouri, acting CEO of ADX, says in a statement: ‘ADX has made a formal commitment to drive sustainability in financial markets by becoming a partner exchange of the United Nations-led SSE initiative.
‘We have carried out this program to support our listed issuers in their sustainability reporting journey. The ESG disclosure guidance represents a natural evolution of our status as a regional-leading exchange, stemming from ADX’s status as a member of the WFE sustainability group.’
ADX’s plan also makes a big contribution to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the delivery of many of these targets has been enshrined in decree by the UAE cabinet through the UAE National Committee on SDGs.
