Ban: Stock Exchanges Can Promote Sustainability
New York, Nov 2 2009 5:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged leaders of stock exchanges and financial institutions to better manage and integrate environmental, social and governance issues into their business practices.
In a video (http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=4203)
message to a gathering at United Nations Headquarters of
more than 60 top executives from around the world, Mr. Ban
said that these so-called “ESG” issues are critical in
creating a world economy that is more stable, inclusive and
sustainable.
“Stock exchanges and other financial
bodies and institutions have a key role to play,” he told
the group, which is meeting to explore ways in which stock
exchanges can promote sustainable business practices and
long-term approaches to investment.
He welcomed the
steps already undertaken by participants to incorporate ESG
considerations into new stock indexes, listing rules and
regulatory frameworks, and said he hoped the meeting will
inspire even further efforts.
The Secretary-General
also highlighted the “unprecedented” partnerships forged
between the UN and the business and financial communities in
recent years.
Among them is the UN Global Compact,
the world’s largest corporate sustainability and
responsibility initiative, which currently involves over
5,000 companies across 130 countries.
Another is the
UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment – a set of
voluntary actions for incorporating ESG issues into
mainstream investment decision-making and ownership
practices that today includes more than 600 institutional
investors with assets of over $18 trillion.
A report
released in July by the UN Environment Programme (http://www.unep.org/) and a
powerful group of asset managers controlling some $2
trillion in assets argued that if investment consultants and
others do not incorporate ESG considerations into their
services, they face “a very real risk that they will be
sued for negligence.”
It also stressed the central
role that the world’s largest institutional investors –
including pensions funds, insurance companies, sovereign
wealth funds and mutual funds – have in easing the
transition to a low-carbon and resource-efficient green
economy.
Today’s meeting is co-hosted by the Global
Compact, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (http://www.unctad.org/Templates/StartPage.asp?intItemID=2068)
and the UN-backed Principles for Responsible
Investment.
ENDS