Sustainability and Securities Services Working Group
Purpose
Sustainability, in financial services, involves integrating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles into investment decisions and business strategies. The Sustainability and Securities Services Working Group (WG) will look to provide educational and informational tools to assist ISSA members better understand sustainability and ESG and its interconnectedness with, and impacts on, the Securities Services industry.
Scope
During 2023, the Sustainability and Securities Services WG began its ESG journey by creating a base understanding, and sharing information, on sustainability and the Securities Services industry. Two key pieces of work were produced:
- A collection of key collateral related to Securities Services and the broader investment industry
- A glossary of terms providing an explanation of ESG concepts
In 2024, the WG will create two sub streams whose focus will be:
- To document the data flows between Securities Services and other participants in the investment chain in relation to the flow of ESG data
- To understand the impacts, challenges and opportunities of Sustainability within Securities Services
In-scope activities for the WG will be:
- To provide an explanation of ESG concepts
- To outline the flows and the roles of each player in the investment lifecycle (plus use cases where helpful)
- To outline the current challenges, risks and opportunities of ESG as they relate to the Securities Services industry
- To assess which ESG services and solutions exist and what is missing
Out-of-scope will be:
- Defining ESG standards
- ESG investment strategies
- Proposing a global solution
Key Deliverables
Data Flows Sub Stream
- A short presentation outlining the key ESG data flows in Securities Services, as well as highlight functions performed by the industry at key points along those flows
Impacts and Challenges Sub Stream
- A report summarizing the current challenges, risks and pain points of ESG as they relate to the Securities Services industry, as well as highlighting which ESG services and solutions exist and where there may be gaps
Key Outcomes
- To educate the ISSA membership on the meaning of sustainability and its relevance to Securities Services
- To ensure an understanding of the impact of , as well as challenges and opportunities for, Securities Services with regards to sustainability requirements
Publications
ISSA- The-Securities-Services-ESG-Glossary- November 2023
Working Group Co-Chairs
- Flora Belladonna, BNP Paribas
- Hai Jade Fuan, Standard Chartered
Executive Sponsor
- Margaret Harwood-Jones, Standard Chartered
Institutions Represented by Experts in the Working Group
- Bloomberg LP
- BNP Paribas S.A.
- Central Securities Clearing System Plc
- Chongwa (Macao) Financial Asset Exchange Co. Ltd.
- Datos Insights
- Deutsche Bank AG
- Deutsche Börse Group
- Euroclear
- Central Securities Clearing System Plc
- Central Securities Depositories Association ECSDA
- JP Morgan Chase & Co.
- McKinsey & Company
- MYRIAD Group Technologies Ltd
- Nasdaq Inc.
- Northern Trust Corporation
- NowCM
- Proxymity
- S&P Global / IHS Markit
- Standard Chartered Bank
- SWIFT SCRL
- Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation
- Tata Group
- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
- The Standard Bank of South Africa
- UBS Group AG