On 2 November 2009, this unique event at UN headquarters in New York will explore how the world's exchanges can work together with investors, regulators, and companies to enhance corporate transparency, and ultimately performance, on ESG issues and encourage responsible long-term approaches to investment.
Co-hosted by the Principles for Responsible Investment, the UN Global Compact, and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), this one-day conference brings together representatives from exchanges, institutional investors and external stakeholders.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, a growing number of investors and policy makers see an urgent need to promote better risk management, good governance and enhanced transparency in order to protect long-term returns. This includes addressing emerging environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues, which are increasingly being seen as drivers of long-term performance and stability, both on the micro and macro levels.

A number of exchanges are already implementing ESG strategies, such as enhancing listing rules and disclosure requirements, setting up ESG indices and launching new exchanges for ESG-related asset classes such as carbon. Some of the questions to be discussed at the event include:

• What are the emerging trends in responsible investment and corporate responsibility and how are these relevant to exchanges?
• What are leading exchanges doing now around ESG issues?
• What is the role of exchanges and regulators in enhancing ESG transparency and raising corporate standards?
• What opportunities exist in developing ESG indices and new exchanges for ESG-focused investments?

The indicative agenda is available here.

Register here

United Nations Global Compact

United Nations Global Compact

As the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With the UN Global Compact, committed companies achieve sustainable value by delivering measurable impact to the world’s most pressing challenges. 

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