Athens Stock Exchange
The Athens Exchange Group (ATHEX), supports the functioning of the Greek Capital Market. ATHEX and its subsidiaries operate the organised equities and derivatives markets (five markets in total), perform clearing and settlement of trades, supply integrated software solutions and services to the Greek capital market community, and promote the development of a capital markets culture in Greece.
Athens Stock Exchange ESG strategy and Sustainability efforts
Challenge
In 2018, ATHEX joined the Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) Initiative, aiming to promote long-term sustainable investment in the Greek capital market, by encouraging issuers to improve their ESG performance. Having laid out the foundations for sustainable investment, ATHEX aimed to develop an ESG Reporting Guide to enhance the transparency, quality and comparability of environmental, social and governance (ESG) information.
Since then, ATHEX is building on its offerings to better compete with competitors and meet the demands of rapidly changing sustainable finance trends and regulations.
Solution
KKS Advisors, a dss+ company, supported ATHEX in the development of its first ESG Reporting Guide by providing technical and advisory assistance. The KKS team took into consideration ESG reporting practices outlined in international and domestic sustainability guidelines and standards (such as SASB's industry specific standards and the Greek Sustainability Code), existing reporting frameworks (such as GRI, CDP, TCFD and others) and the current landscape of corporate reports, to ensure that the metrics identified fully captured the needs and aligned with the capabilities of Greek companies.
The ESG Reporting Guide supports ATHEX's overarching goal to help Greek companies effectively disclose ESG information and improve their access to capital in addition to strengthening corporate reputations and enhancing stakeholder engagement.
KKS conducted a review of the report in 2022 in order to publish an updated version adapting to and maintaining consistency with the latest market standards.