• Euronext unveils new ESG educational and support services for corporates
• Introduction of a series of initiatives facilitating sustainable investment, including an innovative family of biodiversity indices
• Launch of a Euronext Foundation dedicated to financial literacy, diversity & inclusion, and marine resources

Euronext, the leading pan-European market infrastructure, announced the launch of a series of strategic ESG initiatives aimed at accelerating the transition towards sustainable finance. These innovative ESG services were unveiled during the inaugural Euronext Sustainability Week, further delivering on our “Fit For 1.5°” objectives and “Growth for Impact 2024” strategy.

Euronext Sustainability Week, the flagship pan-European event for sustainable finance

Euronext organised its first Euronext Sustainability Week, an entire week of activities dedicated to sustainable finance. Originally launched as Italian Sustainability Week in 2017, Euronext has expanded this successful concept to encompass all its geographies across Europe. Around 40 external and internal events, combining conferences, workshops, and webinars, were held over five days, from nine different geographies across Europe and targeting corporate and investors audiences, to foster sustainable finance.

Facilitating sustainable investment with innovative products

At the heart of its strategy to shape capital markets for future generations, Euronext supports issuers at all stages, from pre-IPO to post-IPO phases, closely accompanying them in their ESG journey. To strengthen this support and provide concrete ESG tools to its issuers, Euronext announced the launch of My ESG Profile, a first-of-its-kind digital tool which will allow issuers to showcase their sustainability efforts while helping investors access relevant ESG data. Euronext will deploy close to 1,900 ESG company profiles and becomes the first stock exchange to make the individual non-financial data of its issuers available in a standardised form, on its website. Issuers can enrich their profiles through Euronext’s customer portal. This initiative will contribute to enhancing transparency in financial markets and to the democratisation of access to reliable ESG data.

Additionally, Euronext announced the creation of an innovative new family of biodiversity indices: the Euronext Biodiversity Enablers index. Constructed in collaboration with Iceberg Data Lab, the index is the first world benchmark index highlighting the positive impact that companies can have on biodiversity, and measuring the double materiality assessment of companies worldwide. The index leverages on two new innovative metrics: a Dependency Exposure Score identifies companies that have highly dependent revenues related to Biodiversity ecosystems, and a Biodiversity Avoided Impact which identifies companies demonstrating best practices in biodiversity and environment impacts. Companies constituting the index are selected from the “Euronext World Index” universe.

Related Article: Euronext Launches Index Investing in Companies with Approved 1.5°C Climate Targets

Expanding education and supporting services for corporates

As ESG becomes an increasingly key factor in the investment decision-making process, Euronext’s commitment to ESG education ensures that the next generation of listed companies is well-prepared to embrace responsible and sustainable business practices. To this effect, Euronext announced the strengthening of the ESG content in its pre-IPO educational programmes, launching new ESG modules delivered in collaboration with specialised partners, as of 2024.

In addition, adding to the existing “Euronext Guide for ESG Reporting”, Euronext is also publishing a new “ESG pre-IPO guide”, a set of recommendations on best practices for ESG during the IPO process, in collaboration with the Paris Institute for Sustainable Finance (Institut de la Finance Durable), providing an overview of investor expectations on corporates’ ESG maturity during the IPO process.

Leading by Example: the Euronext Foundation

Euronext today announced the launch of its “Euronext Foundation”. The Foundation aims to foster our support to local sustainable communities and projects deployed across Europe in the fields of financial literacy, diversity and inclusion, and marine resources. Its ambition is to act as an umbrella encompassing Euronext’s philanthropic and educational support via funding and volunteering dedicated initiatives, to empower young people, promote sustainability, and strengthen our connections with local communities.

Stéphane Boujnah, CEO and Chairman of the Managing Board of Euronext N.V., said: “Effective positive change requires efforts and cooperation among key players in the market. Euronext can significantly impact the European sustainability agenda by leveraging its distinct position in financing the real economy and linking local economies with global capital markets. As strong advocates of the CSRD directive, we firmly believe that the shift towards sustainable finance relies on improved extra-financial standards and more precise, regulated and granular ESG criteria. Our newly unveiled ESG products and services are designed to empower companies in their pursuit of these goals.”