With climate change and other environmental worries on the rise, TMX Group Ltd. is joining efforts to promote sustainability, the Toronto-based exchange operator announced Tuesday.
The company’s primary exchanges, Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV), are joining the United Nations’ effort to promote sustainability and market transparency through the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative.
The initiative, launched in 2009, works with global exchanges to facilitate sustainable investment and help pursue the UN’s sustainable development goals through research, guidance development and other technical assistance. With the addition of the TSX and TSXV, the initiative includes 85 exchanges worldwide.
As part of the initiative, TMX says it aims to work with investors, regulators and issuers to encourage sustainable investment, and enhance issuers’ transparency and performance regarding environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
In a release, Kevin Uebelein, CEO of Edmonton-based Alberta Investment Management Corp., an institutional fund manager, applauded the move. “Globally, stock exchanges are uniquely placed to encourage sound reporting and improved ESG disclosure, contributing to enhanced corporate governance standards and long-term value,” he said. “We applaud the TSX in taking this important next step of joining a global community of stock exchanges committed to creating more sustainable capital markets.”
James Davis, chief investment officer at Toronto-based pension fund OPTrust, said in the release that stock exchanges play a critical role in enhancing corporate transparency and advancing sustainable economic growth. As such, he said TMX’s commitment to sustainability will lead to “enhanced corporate disclosure in Canada which will benefit investors and their beneficiaries around the world.”