Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative

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The Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative is a United Nations project that helps stock exchanges, investors, regulators, and companies work together to promote sustainable development in capital markets. It is co-organized by UNCTAD (the UN Conference on Trade and Development), the UN Global Compact, UNEP-FI, and the PRI, with important support from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and the IOSCO.

What it does
- The SSE runs as a multi-stakeholder learning platform where market players can share knowledge and take action on sustainability.
- Exchanges can become SSE Partner Exchanges by making a voluntary public commitment to improve ESG (environmental, social, and governance) disclosure and performance of listed companies.
- The initiative welcomes participation from securities regulators, investors, companies, and other stakeholders through its Consultative Group. The PRI also hosts an SSE Investor Working Group.

History and key events
- The first SSE meeting was held in New York City in 2009, opened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
- Since 2010, the SSE has held Global Dialogues every two years to discuss how markets can support sustainable development.
- The 2010 Dialogue took place in Xiamen, China; the 2012 Dialogue was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where five exchanges publicly committed to becoming SSE Partner Exchanges.
- The SSE continued to grow, with more exchanges joining as Partner Exchanges and ongoing support from UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, the PRI, and UNEP-FI.
- On October 17, 2023, the SSE became a partnership member of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges.

Global Dialogues and regional events
- The Global Dialogues are the SSE’s flagship events and are designed to explore how exchanges can work with investors and regulators to create more sustainable capital markets, share experiences, and encourage better disclosure.
- Notable past themes and locations include:
- 2014 in Geneva, “Capital Markets for Sustainable Development,” hosted with the UN and part of the World Investment Forum.
- 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, focusing on responsible, long-term investment ahead of Rio+20.
- 2010 in Xiamen, tied to UNCTAD’s World Investment Forum.
- 2009 in New York, aiming to boost ESG transparency and long-term responsible investment.
- Regional Dialogues have also taken place, such as LatAm & Caribbean (Colombia) and South East Asia (Bangkok, 2015), as well as Nordic Countries (Helsinki, 2015). These events help leading exchanges share best practices and commit to practical steps.

Impact and goal
- The SSE works to improve the disclosure and performance of sustainability efforts by listed companies.
- It seeks to align market practices with sustainable development goals and to encourage long-term, responsible investment.
- By bringing exchanges, investors, regulators, and companies together, the SSE aims to strengthen global and regional efforts to build more sustainable capital markets.