Nasdaq Advances Corporate Sustainability Leadership in 2019
“Our commitment to ESG – including our carbon footprint reduction program – mirrors our commitment to our clients and the communities in which we serve,” said
Nasdaq’s listed companies have a deep tradition of innovation, responsibility, and dedication to sustainable practices, with an average of 76% of companies listed on our U.S. and European exchanges reporting on at least one ESG metric on an annual basis1.
Nasdaq’s 2019 ESG highlights:
| Corporate & Community Efforts | |
| Initiative | Description |
| ESG Reporting & Engagement | Nasdaq accelerated its engagement and expanded disclosures with key stakeholders in the investment community, including leading ESG research providers. Increased transparency and improving fundamentals resulted in an 18% rise in Nasdaq’s Sustainalytics ESG score in 2019, the largest among its peer group. |
| ESG Oversight | Nasdaq’s board of directors reconstituted its Nominating & Governance Committee to include oversight of Nasdaq’s corporate responsibility, including environmental and social initiatives. Committee renamed in December 2019 as the “Nominating & ESG Committee,” underscoring board-level commitment to ESG. |
| Carbon Neutrality | Nasdaq achieved carbon neutrality2 across all business operations through the purchase of carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates. |
| Stakeholder Advocacy | Signed the Business Roundtable’s “Statement on the Purpose of a Company” letter; Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman committed to deliver value to all stakeholders. |
| LGBTQ Equality | Named “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign’s 2019 Corporate Equality Index. |
| ESG Index Inclusion | Named to the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index for the fourth consecutive year. |
| Employee Wellness | Nasdaq Philadelphia office awarded WELL Gold Certification and Nasdaq Client Experience Center in New York awarded LEED Gold Certification. |
| Volunteer Events | 220 employee volunteer events, logging 4,165 service hours with more than 500 Nasdaq participants. |
| Diversity Initiatives | Reinforcing our commitment to diversity in meaningful ways – achieving 30% female participation on our board of directors and signing the United Nations’ CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles |
| Educational Support | Committing more than $1M in grants and donations to organizations in the U.S. and abroad through our Educational Foundation and Nasdaq GoodWorks program |
| ESG Services & Solutions | |
| Offering | Description |
| Nasdaq Center for Corporate Governance | Established global information and research hub in 2019 to accelerate the understanding of emerging corporate governance and sustainable business practices through insights and research. |
| Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network | Launched the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network, a global, publicly available web-based platform designed to improve transparency in the market for green, social and sustainability bonds. |
| ESG Advisory Program | Consultative solution designed to assist IR professionals with attracting long-term capital and enhancing value creation via a capital markets-focused ESG foundation. |
| ESG Reporting Guide | Published updated and expanded our ESG Reporting Guide to support public and private companies globally on a voluntary basis who aim to incorporate ESG reporting into their existing reporting processes. |
| ESG Footprint | Launched a new ESG data product, measuring the global sustainability effect of individual securities and designed to help retail investors make more sustainable investment decisions. |
| Sustainable Debt Market | In October, the Nasdaq European Sustainable Debt Market surpassed 200 listed instruments, fueled by strong demand from both issuers and investors looking to allocate funds in a more sustainable direction. |
| ESG Index Futures Milestone | In October, trading in the OMXS30 ESG Index Futures reached one million contracts since its launch in 2018; the first exchange listed ESG index future in the world. |
| eVestment ESG Data | eVestment’s ESG data now includes asset flows data on over 975 firms globally, with over 8,000 strategies constituting $26 trillion in AUM managed with ESG considerations. |
| ESG Data Portal | The Nasdaq ESG Data Portal, launched in 2018, now has ESG data from 303 companies across all ICB sectors. The Portal is a centralized distribution point that offers institutional investors access to standardized ESG data from Nordic listed companies. |
Nasdaq is committed to long-term ESG advocacy, oversight, and philanthropy to engage with stakeholders at all levels. Nasdaq’s philanthropic impact has generated millions of dollars in value, through a combination of employee donations, corporate matching, and employee volunteer hours since the launch of our GoodWorks initiative in 2015. With a renewed market emphasis on long-term value creation, we regularly host ESG-related webinars, in-person events, and small-scale workshops for clients to enhance their communications with the investment community.
To learn more about Nasdaq’s corporate responsibility and sustainability commitments, visit: www.nasdaq.com/sustainability.
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1 Nasdaq ESG Reporting Guide (
2 For calendar year 2018
About Nasdaq:
Nasdaq Media Contacts:
(646) 964-8169
william.briganti@nasdaq.com
Erik Granström (
+46 8 405 78 07
erik.granstrom@nasdaq.com
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Source: Nasdaq, Inc.