Boursa Kuwait has been awarded the title of ‘Most Sustainable Company in the Financial Services Industry’ by World Finance magazine for its enduring commitment to promote corporate sustainability within the Kuwaiti capital market.

 

The award recognised the national stock exchange operator’s efforts to raise awareness and foster the adoption of sustainable business practices, internally and throughout the wider capital market, a release said.

 

The magazine’s Sustainability Awards programme celebrates companies across the globe that place green values at the heart of their business operations. This year’s selected winners are those who have shown true commitment to cutting emissions across their company’s entire value chain. 

 

Among the companies recognised along with Boursa Kuwait were Saudi Aramco, Volkswagen Group, Turkish Airlines and Swisscom.

 

Progressive financial services company 

Since its inception, Boursa Kuwait has prided itself on being a progressive financial services company that strives to develop and enhance Kuwait’s capital market apparatus and its participants, whether through introducing internationally recognised products and services, developing an improved market infrastructure, or ensuring that business operations are sustainable over the short, medium, and long-term.

 

The company’s Corporate Sustainability (CS) strategy is a fundamental component of its overarching strategy, and it recognises that sustainable operations and practices are becoming increasingly vital to both investors and issuers. 

 

Since 2017, when it joined the United Nations’ Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) initiative, the company has made a formal commitment to drive corporate sustainability in financial markets. 

 

Three pillars

Through contributions to the three pillars of ‘Education’, ‘Community’ and the ‘Environment’, Boursa Kuwait aims to be responsible and committed to its sustainable development as well as the community in which it operates and promote the adoption of socially impactful and accountable practices in the surrounding communities.

 

In 2021, the company continued to partner and collaborate with local and international organisations on initiatives that correspond to each pillar. In the “Community” pillar, Boursa Kuwait continued to give back to the community in which it operates, partnering with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, and the Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital to support each organisation’s various initiatives in the areas of education and refugee protection and safety. 

 

As part of the Education pillar, which aims to nurture a new generation of well-informed and competent retail investors and securities professionals, the company collaborated with the CFA Society and Kuwait University to enhance Boursa Academy Online and launch new, engaging and educational content, in an effort to increase awareness and engagement with the investor community. 

 

Green initiatives

As part of its Environment pillar, the company launched a variety of green initiatives. In association with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for West Asia, the Environmental Voluntary Foundation (EVF), and the Kuwait Dive Team, Boursa Kuwait sponsored the 2021 National Campaign to Remove Hazardous Waste from the Kuwait Bay. 

 

Boursa Kuwait’s Corporate Sustainability strategy stipulates ensuring initiatives apply and fall in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), industry best practice standards and investor expectations, creating strong and sustainable partnerships that ultimately achieve success and allow Boursa Kuwait to leverage the capabilities and strengths of other companies or organisations that have experience in different fields, and integrating sustainability efforts with the company culture, in order to achieve longevity and an ongoing impact that is carried on and instilled in the day-to-day operations of the stock exchange. 

 

As part of the strategy, Boursa Kuwait has launched many initiatives in partnership with local and international organisations, focusing on support for nongovernmental organisations and charity programmes, financial literacy and capital market awareness, the empowerment of women, as well as environmental protection.-- TradeArabia News Service