The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted the Nigerian Sustainable Finance Principles as developed by the Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee for the capital market.
The Commission said the 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 Nigerian capital market plays a major role in the industrialisation and economic development of Nigeria. However, the pursuance of these key objectives involves activities that give rise to a range of challenges including air and water pollution, climate change, water and natural resource scarcity, environmental degradation, growing population density and poverty.
To this end, the principles, it stressed, help create an economic, environmental and social organisation that ensures and improves economic efficiency, prosperity, and sustained economic competitiveness while contributing to protecting and restoring ecological systems, enhancing cultural diversity and social well-being.