August 3 (SeeNews) - The Bulgarian Stock Exchange [BUL:BSE] said that it will collaborate with US-based financial market data provider Refinitiv by adopting its environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics for a new index which will measure Bulgarian listed companies' sustainable performance.
The planned ESG Index is set to be launched at the end of 2022, the BSE said in a statement on Tuesday.
Refinitiv, which was acquired by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) in a $27 billion (26.7 billion euro) all-stock reverse takeover in 2021, will manage and provide data on the sustainable performance of BSE-listed companies. Its ESG metrics will qualify the constituents of BSE’s ESG Index and power the planned sustainability index, according to the statement.
Bulgarian publicly-listed companies will also be able to provide their ESG data through Oxygen, a digital platform which was launched by BSE subsidiary Financial Market Services in March, in partnership with German carbon accounting and decarbonisation software solutions provider Plan A.
"The new Index will be built on solid metrics that are recognised with global expertise and a sound methodology. The step will enable Bulgarian public companies to improve their ESG performance in line with the global standards and contribute to Bulgaria’s sustainable economic development," BSE chief executive Manyu Moravenov said.
Oxygen allows public companies to generate the Non-Financial Declaration, which has been developed in line with the EU taxonomy and includes the standard globally established ESG indicators.
Refinitiv started its Fund ESG Scores in 2020 to facilitate industry transition to sustainable investing. The LSEG subsidiary also provides Refinitiv Deals Intelligence Sustainable Finance League Table Rankings, which are billed as the first and only rankings to combine both sustainable products and sustainable companies resulting in the market’s most comprehensive sustainable league tables.
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