The London Stock Exchange Joins The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges
by Sangeeta Haindl
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is one of the world’s oldest stock exchanges. It can trace its history back more than 300 years, and most would not really associate this great British institution with sustainability. Yet it does a lot of work in this arena—now it has partnered with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative. It joins nine other exchanges in the U.S., Europe, Africa and Asia to promote sustainable business practices among publicly listed companies worldwide. The LSE is at the heart of global financial markets and is in a unique and privileged position to promote sustainability, and corporate responsibility. Ultimately, this collaboration is about supporting stable global long-term economic growth and a vision for a sustainable future—a key element for promoting much-needed investment in sustainable development!
Stock exchanges have a crucial role to play in enhancing both the quality and quantity of environmental, social and corporate governance reporting by companies listed on their exchanges. Only three percent of the world’s largest companies currently disclose information about their Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) performance. Better disclosure will improve the usefulness and comparability of information being reported in each market, enabling institutional investors to better manage risk and make more informed investment decisions. This SSE initiative is delivering the message that stock exchanges are a critical player in bringing investors, companies, regulators and other major stakeholders together to help make corporate sustainability a transformative force in achieving a shared, secure and sustainable future.
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Sangeeta Haindl enjoys being a staff writer for 3BL Media/Justmeans on topics - Social Innovation, Social Enterprise and Social Entrepreneurs. When she is not writing for 3BL Media/Justmeans, she wears her other hat as owner of Serendipity PR. Over the years she has worked with high-profile, big, powerful brands and organisations within the public, not-for-profit and corporate sectors; and won awards from her industry. She believes in the power of serendipity for business and superheroes. She also is a Twitter lover and believes that social media is a digital constellation:connecting people in an easily explored galaxy. She would also describe herself as a Spiritual Entrepreneur, Conscious Explorer and Futurist. She enjoys helping others, paying it forward and being a mum.
