Bahrain Bourse participated in the GCC Exchanges Committee, with the attendance of Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse, in which the 6th meeting took place on 14th December 2022 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia endorsing the adoption of unified GCC ESG metrics across all GCC Exchanges. 

The GCC Exchanges Committee - GCC General Secretariat, chaired by the Saudi Exchange, published a unified set of ESG Disclosure Metrics today. The metrics comprise 29 standards (10 Environmental, 10 Social, and 9 Governance metrics) that are aligned with the World Federation of Exchanges and Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative and include categories across GHG emissions, energy usage, water usage, gender pay, employee turnover, gender diversity, data privacy, ethics and more. 

The GCC ESG Disclosure Metrics are an important step towards standardizing ESG disclosure across the GCC region, due to differences of standards in reporting. The metrics are voluntary and serve as a guideline for companies wishing to embark on their ESG disclosure journey. 

Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse said: “Creating a unified set of ESG disclosure metrics across all GCC markets aims to align reporting and enhance transparency within capital markets when addressing ESG, as investors are becoming increasingly sophisticated demanding a more precise and more transparent data to support their investment decision process. As more focus is being driven towards GCC capital markets, particularly with COP28 - 2023 taking place in UAE, it is imperative to align reporting across markets moving forward, particularly on climate change, as this forms a key milestone towards achieving a net-zero economy”.

The GCC Exchanges committee aims to support the development of regional capital markets, create an advanced capital market ecosystem in the GCC region, and elevate their position on the global stage.

The GCC ESG Disclosure Metrics are available to download here.