The London Stock Exchange Group announced that it will partner with the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative, joining nine other exchanges in the US, Europe, Africa and Asia to promote sustainable business practices among publicly listed companies worldwide.
The announcement was made on 2 June as UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi opened the market at the London Stock Exchange (LSE). "By joining the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative, the London Stock Exchange commits to a renewed effort to engage in dialogue with key capital market stakeholders to raise the level of best practice," said Dr. Kituyi. "Together, we can promote markets where market signals and sustainability priorities are in alignment, not conflict. This is part of our vision for a sustainable future. This will be a key element for promoting much-needed investment in sustainable development."
In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the LSE Group committed to working with investors, companies and regulators to promote long term sustainable investment and improved environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) disclosure and performance among companies listed on its exchanges.
"London Stock Exchange Group's approach to corporate responsibility is founded on four pillars that are closely tied with how we operate as a business: our markets, our services, our people, and our community," said Mark Makepeace, Group Director of Information Services, LSE Group. "Given our role at the heart of global financial markets, we are in a unique and privileged position to promote sustainability and corporate responsibility. Ultimately this is about supporting stable global long-term economic growth. We are therefore delighted to join the UN SSE initiative as a Partner Exchange and look forward to collaborating on important sustainability themes with the UN and peer exchanges around the world."
 UNCTAD Secretary-General Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi opening the London Stock Exchange |
"We are very happy to have the London Stock Exchange Group join us in our efforts to promote responsible investment," said Mr. James Zhan, Director of UNCTAD's Division on Investment and Enterprise. "To deliver the kind of investment in sustainable development the world urgently needs, it is critically important to have the active participation of all members of the investment chain, from pension funds and other portfolio investors, to stock exchanges and policy makers, to transnational corporations and other foreign direct investors."
Members of the UN SSE initiative and other investment leaders will meet in Geneva on 14 October for the SSE's biennial Global Dialogue: five party talks between exchanges, investors, companies, regulators and policy makers. The Global Dialogue takes place as part of UNCTAD's 4th World Investment Forum, which will be opened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi and feature over 2,000 investment stakeholders, including Heads of State, Ministers, and CEOs of stock exchanges, global companies and institutional investors from around the world.
The SSE initiative is co-organized by UNCTAD, the United Nations Global Compact, the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, and the United Nations Environment Programme's Finance Initiative - demonstrating the "One UN" model of collaboration to deliver on United Nations goals to advance sustainable development.
Contacts:
info@SSEinitiative.org
UNCTAD: Anthony Miller, CSR Focal Point, Division on Investment and Enterprise
+41 22 917 5802
Anthony.miller@unctad.org
