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KUWAIT: Boursa Kuwait hosted a webinar entitled ‘Environmental, Social and Governance Perspectives’ for Kuwaiti listed companies and other capital market participants on December 8, 2021. The webinar featured ESG experts from multinational professional services firm Ernst and Young (EY) as well as the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), who highlighted the critical importance of ESG performance, as investors are increasingly paying attention to climate risks and sustainable business practices.
The initiative forms part of Boursa Kuwait’s efforts to create a lasting meaningful impact on the community where it operates as part of its Corporate Sustainability strategy and is in line with Goal 4 - Quality Education - and Goal 17 - Partnership for the Goals - of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A member of the United Nations’ Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative since 2017, the company has been making a formal commitment to the sustainability of listed companies and their operations.
During the event, which was moderated by the exchange’s Institutional Investor Affairs Department’s Fahad Al-Dughaishim, EY’s Partner and Leader for Climate Change and Sustainability Services, Yasir Ahmad, EY Senior Manager, Matthew John, and PRI’s Head of UK & Ireland and Middle East, Eline Sleurink, delivered presentations covering all aspects of the ESG universe. During the webinar, Boursa Kuwait also shed light on its efforts to integrate ESG principles into the company’s business and encourage all its stakeholders to embrace corporate sustainability.
The webinar comes on the heels of the stock exchange’s launch of its new ESG guide to raise awareness of the benefits of ESG disclosure and best practices. The guide proposes an initial set of sustainability indicators that correspond with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework and the State of Kuwait’s sustainable development ambitions as set out in the Kuwait National Development Plan and the “New Kuwait” vision for 2035.
Commenting on the initiative, Boursa Kuwait’s Head of Markets Noura Al-Abdulkareem said, “We are delighted that the ESG webinar was a success with remarkable participation from our stakeholders. We hope that the thought-provoking insights provided by the industry experts will lead to tremendous outcomes. The webinar underlines our unremitting commitment to driving ESG accountability within the company and the wider capital market.”
She added, “The webinar also forms a part of our continuous efforts to further develop the market and elevate its status to meet international standards. We will continue to be at the forefront of the efforts to encourage listed companies to accelerate their transition as they continue to adopt more environmentally conscious and sustainable business operations.”
Yasir Ahmad, Partner and Leader for Climate Change and Sustainability Services at EY, highlighted that ESG has evolved into a model of thinking and approach for businesses and leaders to maintain a competitive position in the global market. Stressing that customers are growing socially and environmentally conscious in their buying patterns and that there is increased investor pressure to disclose and address ESG risks, he stated that businesses are expected to practice enhanced reporting and transparency as the global landscape is rapidly evolving from voluntary frameworks to more targeted and mandatory regulation.”
EY Senior Manager Matthew John delved deep into the benefits of ESG implementation, as well as the challenges facing the businesses that fail on that front. He emphasized that a considerable percentage of investors agree that that ESG performance played a pivotal role in their investment decision-making and went over ESG trends in the Middle East, sharing insights into leading ESG practices adopted by companies in Kuwait and the wider region, highlighting Boursa Kuwait’s ESG reporting guide and its commitment to the Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative.
Eline Sleurink, Head of UK and Ireland and Middle East at PRI, explained the six principles of responsible investing and highlighted the priority areas and the key ESG issues of PRI. Emphasizing the importance of an economically efficient and sustainable global financial system for long-term value creation, Ms. Sleurink spotlighted the material risks that businesses may endure if they underperform on ESG factors.
Boursa Kuwait’s Corporate Sustainability strategy stipulates ensuring initiatives apply and fall in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), industry best practice standards and investor expectations, creating strong and sustainable partnerships that ultimately achieve success and allow Boursa Kuwait to leverage the capabilities and strengths of other companies or organizations that have experience in different fields, and integrating sustainability efforts with the company culture, in order to achieve longevity and an ongoing impact that is carried on and instilled in the day-to-day operations of the stock exchange.
As part of the strategy, Boursa Kuwait has launched many initiatives in partnership with local and international organizations, focusing on support for nongovernmental organizations and charity programs, financial literacy and capital market awareness, the empowerment of women, as well as environmental protection.
