Sustainability Strategy

Sustainability: from commitments to action

March 24, 2023

5 min

Brigitte Trafford

Chief Corporate Affairs & Marketing Officer

Positioned at the centre of capital markets, LSEG is committed to being a strategic enabler of sustainable growth in three ways: by helping to accelerate the climate transition; enabling the growth of the green economy and creating inclusive economic opportunity. Today we’ve published our 2022 Sustainability Report as well as our Climate Report, which together illustrate how we’re delivering on our commitments.

It is particularly pleasing that both reports feature wonderful photos taken by our own people that were submitted as part of our “picture our priorities” photo competition last year.

Our reports show how we’re helping companies to finance climate transition activity through the London Stock Exchange’s Transition Bond segment. We’re also providing investors with critical climate data and indexes. A key development in 2022 was the launch of our Voluntary Carbon Market designation. This is designed to scale up financing for nature-based projects that create carbon credits that can be used organisations who are voluntarily looking to offset their emissions alongside their direct decarbonisation activity.

We’re engaged in a wide variety of collaborative initiatives which support the climate transition. For example, we’re members of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). We also continue to partner with the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI). GFANZ is mobilising the financial sector on net zero while TPI is significantly increasing independent, free and publicly available analysis of how companies all over the world are progressing against their climate targets.

We’re committed to reducing our own carbon footprint - a key ambition of our Climate Transition Plan published last year. We’ve adopted science-based targets, approved by SBTi, to halving our emissions by 2030 and working with our suppliers to set their own targets. In 2022 we invited our shareholders to vote on our Climate Transition Plan which received almost 99% support. Take a look at our new Climate Report for more detail of our progress.

Alongside decarbonising the economy, we need to grow the green economy to help provide solutions to some of the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges. LSEG is enabling more capital to flow to these solutions through our London Stock Exchange Sustainable Bond Market. In 2022, we welcomed 77 new bonds that raised £42 billion.

We’re helping clients and stakeholders identify opportunities to invest in the green economy with FTSE Russell’s Green Revenues data and the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark. This mark has been awarded to 108 companies and funds that derive more than 50% of their revenues from products and services with environmental objectives. Our ESG data on 15,000 companies is used by investors to inform decision-making and stewardship activity.

Our third big priority is to promote an inclusive economy and we do that in a number of ways. The Sustainability Report shares details of our progress against our own diversity and inclusion goals. While there’s still more for us to do in increasing representation both in terms of gender and ethnicity, we reached an important milestone goal of 40% of our senior leadership being women by the end of 2022.

Finally, I’m incredibly proud of the opportunities being created through the LSEG Foundation. In 2022 the LSEG Foundation forged multi-year strategic partnerships with charities Room to Read, Girls Who Code, Skills Builder and Women’s World Banking. These are creating a tangible impact on communities by developing literacy, building essential skills and inspiring interest in science and engineering. Last year I was privileged to visit a school in Bengaluru, where I saw first-hand how Room to Read is supporting children to learn to read.

Safeguarding a sustainable future for our planet is incumbent on us all and I’m proud to be part of an organisation driving progress at the heart of financial markets.

For more information on how LSEG is enabling sustainable economic growth, read our sustainability report or watch this video with Jane Goodland, LSEG’s Group Head of Sustainability

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We’re fusing sustainability and finance to enable our customers to create sustainable growth.

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Our world is at a tipping point.The changing climate is posing huge threatsto our natural ecosystems,our societyand the global economy.Minimising these threatsand adapting to climate changerequires sustainable economic development.But transitioning to a low carbon economyand ultimately reaching net zerocould cost up to 275 trillion dollars.LSEG is helping to mobilisethe essential capital neededand providing critical information,data and market infrastructure.We're fusing sustainability and financeto help our customers achieve sustainable growth.We are leveraging our expertise,our partnerships,our products and servicesto deliver against three strategic priorities.We're enabling organisations to raise capitalfor climate transitionon our sustainable bond market.And we're giving investors accessto transition aligned indices.And we have also set our own science based targetsto reduce our emissionswith an ambition to get to net zero by 2040.We research 16,000 companies around the worldto identify and measure revenuescoming from sustainable activities,which really highlightsthe growing investment opportunitiescoming from the green economy.Our Green Economy Markis awarded to companies and fundsthat generate over half of their revenuesfrom products and servicesthat are contributing to environmental objectives.We also recognise how vital it is for everyoneto have the opportunityto participate in economic growth.Around the world.The LSEG Foundation invests ineconomic empowerment partnerships,giving communities access to employment,education and enterprise.And within LSEG we're creating an inclusive culturethat values diverse perspectivesand embraces diversity of every kind.Together, we can create a sustainable future.

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