By JAMES A. LOYOLA

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is steering corporations and members of both the public and private sectors towards a more sustainable capital market and business sector as it envisions a greener, low-carbon, and sustainable economy.

The Commission launched on Monday, July 15, the Sustainable Enterprise Collaboration Network (eSECnature), which seeks to link corporations, government organizations, multilateral and civil society organizations to further deepen the corporate sector’s participation in sustainability initiatives and accelerate the country’s attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Members of the network will promote collaboration and participation in knowledge-sharing activities and policy advocacy initiatives to help one another integrate and adopt sustainable practices in their operations.

They will also work toward ensuring the ethical and responsible conduct of business operations and advocacy, reducing their carbon footprint, and supporting the government’s digitalization, zero-contact, and paperless initiatives.

“Through this network, we aim to unite organizations both in the public and private sectors to collaborate in developing best practices, new ideas, and successful strategies toward our vision of a sustainable capital market and business sector,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said.

He added that “we believe that the adoption of sustainable practices will have a significant impact in improving the state of our capital markets and, more importantly, the economy." 

“As we see more companies comply with ESG standards, we can look forward to the entry of more investments into the country that can further drive our economic growth,” he also said.

On behalf of Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick D. Go, Undersecretary Jose Edwiniel Guilas said that "the success of our initiatives is only possible with the accurate and meaningful participation of all key stakeholders. When we join forces and come together for a common thrust, we maximize the impact of our programs and accelerate progress."

The eSECnature Campaign also focuses on digital enablement to reduce the corporate sector’s overall carbon footprint.

Since 2020, the SEC has endeavored to pursue sustainability through digital transformation in a bid to not only make its operations more sustainable but also to improve the ease of doing business.

These initiatives are estimated to have reduced the Commission’s carbon footprint by over 3,500 tons from 2021 to 2023. In the same period, it also saved more than 10,000 trees, equivalent to about 85 million sheets of paper that would have been used in manual transactions.

The SEC is slated to launch five new digital initiatives this week to make further stakeholders’ transactions easier in line with sustainability efforts.
The pursuit of sustainability is part of the Commission’s mandate to promote good corporate governance among the sector it oversees.

In 2019, the Commission issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 4, Series of 2019, or the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Publicly Listed Companies (PLCs), which helped PLCs in evaluating their non-financial performance and monitoring their progress towards meeting sustainability goals.

The SEC also issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 11, Series of 2022, outlining the Rules on Sustainable and Responsible Investment Funds (SRIF) for qualified investment companies.

Guidelines for the issuance of sustainability-linked bonds, incorporating the ASEAN Sustainability-linked Bond Standards, have likewise been issued to encourage companies to align their financial objectives with sustainable practices.

Earlier this month, the SEC launched the SECFoRest, which details the Commission’s plans to plant over 16,000 trees covering a 10-hectare area in the Angat River Watershed in Norzagaray, Bulacan. The Commission chose the location due to the significance of Angat Dam as it accounts for 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water supply.