New York, 24 September 2015 - UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner met today with stock exchange and corporate CEOs, institutional investors, high-level policy makers and regulators at a gathering hosted by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to discuss the sustainable development opportunities and challenges facing markets today.
Finance leaders and policy makers took the opportunity to speak and engage with their peers on the critical question of how stock exchanges and capital markets can support the implementation and the financing of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Executive Director Steiner said, "In the two years since the NYSE joined the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, we have seen membership soar to 27 partner exchanges around the world. This year, we welcomed the three most recent members: the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the Stock Exchange of Mauritius and the Colombo Stock Exchange. We are all shareholders in a sustainable future, and there is no question that the participation of securities regulators, investors, companies will be critical to realising this goal."
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE)
Launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York in 2009, the SSE is co-convened by UNEP Finance Initiative, UN Conference on Trade and Development, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and UN Global Compact as a global platform to explore how exchanges can work with investors, regulators and companies to enhance corporate sustainability, market transparency on sustainability issues and promote responsible investment.
The 27 current partner exchanges include the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse.
When joining the SSE initiative the CEO of the partner exchange publicly commits by signing up to the following statement: "We voluntarily commit, through dialogue with investors, companies and regulators, to promoting long-term sustainable investment and improved environmental, social and corporate governance disclosure and performance among companies listed on our exchange." http://www.sseinitiative.org/