MANAMA: Bahrain Bourse (BHB) has issued Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) voluntary reporting guidelines for listed companies. The voluntary reporting guideline aims to increase awareness and understanding of the importance and benefits of ESG reporting and assist listed companies to address ESG issues in their reporting to meet the requirements of institutional investors for material ESG information.
The announcement is part of BHB’s efforts to promote sustainability and transparency in Bahrain’s capital market.
“As a Partner Exchange Member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative and a member of the World Federation of Exchanges, Bahrain Bourse has made a formal commitment to drive sustainability in the capital market of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Building upon this initiative, we have issued the ESG reporting guidance to encourage and assist listed companies in disclosing ESG information that investors can utilize to make informed and responsible investment decisions,” Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Bourse, said.
“The guideline includes the latest third-party reporting methodologies widely adopted by the industry and aims to assist listed companies in navigating the evolving standards on ESG reporting and disclosure. We are looking forward to enhance transparency and disclosure in Bahrain’s capital market by supporting listed companies’ alignment with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Shaikh Khalifa added.
While implementation of the ESG guidelines is voluntary, the ESG reporting guidance encourages listed companies to disclose a set of 32 ESG metrics and indicators in alignment with the recommendations of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative and the World
Federation of Exchanges, Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) standards, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The guideline explains the key regional and international drivers for adoption of ESG reporting, the importance of ESG reporting, the ways to report on ESG, and concludes with Bahrain Bourse’s efforts in promoting sustainability.
It is worth noting that Bahrain Bourse has officially joined the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative in February 2019 to demonstrate its commitment to promote sustainable and transparent capital markets in cooperation with listed companies, investors, and other stakeholders.
Earlier this year, Bahrain Bourse has deployed a workshop on sustainability to support listed companies’ sustainability reporting journey, and assist companies to gain a better understanding of the importance of ESG disclosure for meeting the growing investors’ demand for ESG information. Bahrain Bourse has also reported on its own ESG performance for the first time within its 2019 Annual Report. Bahrain Bourse will also provide the necessary resources to support listed companies such as providing regular trainings and deploying customized group and 1-on-1 engagement sessions on the business case of ESG, and promoting responsible investment practices among investors.
