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The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted the Nigerian Sustainable Finance Principles (NSFP) as developed by the Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC) for the capital market.
This was contained in a statement released by the Commission in Abuja, weekend.
The regulator stated that the objectives of the SEC guidelines on NSFP are to: Stimulate a resilient, competitive and sustainable capital market that promotes economic development and improves the quality of life for all; Improve corporate governance practices to ensure that the participants in the capital market operate in a transparent and sustainable manner; Nurture an environment that facilitates job creation and diversity, women empowerment, human rights protection, access to affordable capital market products by the economically less privileged and contribute to efforts aimed at reducing global warming and other environmental footprints resulting from our activities and those of our stakeholders.
The Commission said the SEC guidelines and approach are principles based and therefore do not prescribe specific implementation requirements but however noted that these principles should be applied by each regulated entity in a manner that fits individual mandates, core values, and enterprise risk management framework.
The SEC noted that reporting enhances companies’ accountability for the effects of their social impacts which in turn fosters social responsibility in organizations and therefore enhances trust, while facilitating shared values on which to build a more cohesive society, adding that “Consequently, regulated entities must report regularly on the extent to which they apply these principles. Consequently, the adoption of financial sustainability principles and its reporting are vital steps towards achieving a sustainable global economy”.
