Caretaker Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar has commended the efforts of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in promoting sustainable business practices in the corporate sector of Pakistan.
She was speaking as chief guest of the third Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Symposium organized by SECP in collaboration with UN Women Pakistan. The symposium focused on ESG based investing and Climate Change. The full-day event, held in Karachi, drew dynamic participation from the relevant stakeholders including leadership from key capital market institutions, multilateral representation, academia and companies, all committed to fostering sustainable investment and responsible business practices.
Addressing to the participants, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar also appreciated the active involvement of UN-Women Pakistan in promoting gender inclusive interventions and enabling constructive deliberations. She elaborated on commitment of government of Pakistan in addressing climate change related focusing on developing a green taxonomy, strengthening disclosure guidelines, establishing a blended agriculture finance fund, and collaborating with global re-insurers for disaster risk financing.
The finance minister emphasized the importance of accountability, transparency, and sustainability-linked products, highlighting the private sector’s role in climate investments. She appreciated SECP’s initiatives, including the ESG Guidelines, ESG Sustain portal and collaborations with ICAP, PICG, and PSX for capacity as steps in right direction.
Opening the dialogue, Ms. Musarat Jabeen, Executive Director at SECP, highlighted the shift in regulators’ roles from enforcing laws to promoting sustainable development. In this perspective the need for integrating ESG considerations into regulatory regime, inevitable role of capacity building in context of evolving disclosure frameworks and a tangible action plan for collaborative and cohesive ESG implementation.
The launch of ‘ESG Sustain’ and the draft ‘ESG Disclosure Guidelines’ mark key milestones under the SECP’s ESG Regulatory Roadmap. She presented SECP’s draft ESG action plan, outlining key responsibilities and timelines of stakeholders for a sustainable ecosystem, and ask participants to deliberate and share feedback.
Ms. Sharmeela Rasool, Country Representative of UN Women Pakistan, encouraged the investors, regulators, private sector and assurance providers to adopt ESG framework and benchmark performance for attracting investments and contributions to sustainability.
