Aurangzeb officially launches ESG Sustain

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, officially launched ESG Sustain, a centralized online sustainability portal developed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in collaboration with UN Women Pakistan.

The launch of ESG Sustain marks a significant milestone under SECP’s ESG Roadmap aimed towards advancing sustainable practices across regulated sectors.

The portal provides companies with a robust tool to report climate-related data, disclose sustainability progress and share gender-disaggregated statistics, while also hosting a dedicated Knowledge Hub with resources from professional bodies and market leaders to support capacity building.

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With over 40 companies already on boarded for contributing data, ESG Sustain is set to play a pivotal role in fostering data-driven decision-making, attracting sustainability-linked investments and paving the way for an ESG Index in future.

Addressing the participants, the Finance Minister commended SECP on launching ESG Sustain. He highlighted that “Portal’s emphasis on inclusivity and gender reforms aligns with the Government of Pakistan’s vision for inclusive growth”. Noting the global shift towards climate resilience and climate finance, he stressed the importance of leveraging resources through collaboration and scaling up efforts digitally, with ESG Sustain serving as a catalyst for these initiatives.

ESG Sustain reflects the government’s vision of enabling the private sector to drive economic growth while it concentrates on creating a supportive policy framework. He was of the view that digital channels and avenues are the way forward, enabling the scaling up of initiatives and promoting a culture of transparency and accountability.

Aurangzeb stated that the ESG platform was aimed at encouraging companies and institutions to share their success stories and best practices. This initiative is expected to serve as an equalizer, allowing all institutions, regardless of size, to showcase their achievements and learn from each other.

Aurangzeb reiterated the importance of private sector leadership in driving Pakistan’s growth, with the government providing a policy framework and enabling environment. He emphasized that the government has no business being in business, citing the significant losses of around Rs6 trillion incurred by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) over the past decade.

The minister also highlighted the need to address Pakistan’s two existential problems including population growth and climate change.

He emphasized the importance of promoting sustainable and inclusive growth, leveraging digitization and data sharing to drive progress.

Vipunjit Ketunuti, Deputy Country Representative for UN Women, commended the launch of ESG Sustain for its potentially pivotal role in promoting sustainable development, “It is truly inspiring to see an increasing number of companies in Pakistan recognizing the critical importance of embedding ESG principles into their core business strategies for long-term success.

ESG Sustain will go a long way in facilitating the process. I am particularly proud that the SECP has recommended the UN Women Empowerment Principles as amongst the globally recognized frameworks for sustainability reporting. This is a significant step toward enabling companies to particularly advance gender equality and empower women within their operations.“

Chairman SECP, Akif Saeed extended heartfelt gratitude to the Honorable Finance Minister, for his leadership and guidance and the UN Women Pakistan for their unwavering support in development of ESG Sustain.

Highlighting the urgency of aligning with global sustainability commitments, he said that “ESG Sustain stands as one of the few centralized sustainability portals globally, providing a vital platform to facilitate climate finance, advance gender reforms, and foster corporate accountability and enables the private sector to highlight their sustainability accomplishments on a global platform.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024