Net zero commitment
LSEG is the first global exchange group to commit to net zero through the Business Ambition for 1.5C and is a member of the United Nations Climate Change ‘Race to Zero’.
This commitment to net zero, and action on climate change, covers our own carbon emissions and also our influence across the marketplace, through our business and how we support clients.
Taking action on our own carbon emissions
LSEG was one of the first companies in the financial services sector to commit to long-term science-based carbon reduction targets, which have subsequently been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
We have committed to reduce absolute scope 1, 2 and 3(business travel) GHG emissions 46% by 2030 from a 2019 base year. We have also set a target of engaging with all key suppliers, accounting for 57% of Scope 3 emissions, to set science-based targets by 2025.
LSEG has also been a supporter of the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) since its launch in 2017. We not only encourage issuers to report against TCFD through our reporting guidance but aims to go further each year in embedding these standards into our own financial reporting.
Taking action to catalyse decarbonisation across the marketplace
Climate risks pose threats to ecosystems, societies, markets and to companies and a globally coordinated response is needed to mitigate and manage those risks. LSEG is committed to taking action, supporting the growing drive to a net-zero carbon economy. LSEG is well positioned at the heart of global financial markets to act as a facilitator, bringing together investors and issuers in three critical areas:
- Data and disclosure - catalysing consistent, comparable and reliable global climate data
- Growth of the green economy - enabling the growth and development of green industries
- Climate transition across all sectors - supporting investment and capital flows to achieve climate transition and resilience
Our role is to convene the market and drive action on climate change:
- In data and disclosure, we’re co-chairing the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange’s advisory group developing Model Climate Reporting Guidance, to be launched later in 2021. This follows the call to collaborative action from David Schwimmer and Mark Carney to stock exchanges around the world, and the letters we sent to exchange CEOs globally.
- To grow the green economy, our LSE Green Economy Mark recognises listed companies with 50% or more of their revenues derived from products and services that contribute to the global green economy, as defined by FTSE Russell’s Green Revenues 2.0 Data Model.
- To support climate transition, our Data & Analytics division helps investors calibrate their requirements to achieve climate and other environmental, social and governance goals. For example, we launched the FTSE TPI Climate Transition Index early last year – the first global index to enable investors to align a broad equity portfolio with climate transition and the goals of the Paris Agreement. We also offer one of the richest ESG databases in the industry and have been delivering ESG data and solutions for over 15 years through our heritage Refinitiv business. This now includes Lipper fund and portfolio ESG scores, sustainable financing deals, carbon pricing data and research from Point Carbon, renewable energy projects through Infrastructure 360.
- As part of our sustainability approach, we launched a dedicated Transition Bond segment on London Stock Exchange on the same day as announcing our Net Zero Commitment. The segment displays debt instruments from issuers who have a corporate strategy or transition framework aligned to the Paris Agreement and joins our other sustainability-aligned bond segments to form the Sustainable Bond Market (SBM). The SBM allows for Green Economy issuers with over 90% of green revenues to display their bonds on a dedicated green revenues segment.
- LSEG is also partnering with the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) to co-host the COP26 Investor Action on Climate series of free-to-attend online events which started in 2020 and run up to COP26 in November 2021.