- Updated ESG reporting guidelines now available for WSE-listed companies
- Guidance to assist issuers with reporting non-financial data in line with investor expectations and regulatory developments
- Guidelines to help develop a well-functioning and more resilient market and drive further green investment in Poland
The Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) has published updated environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting guidelines for listed companies, developed with the technical assistance of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The guidelines will help issuers and investors in Poland adapt to new challenges in sustainable finance and contribute to the development of a well-functioning and more resilient market.
The latest edition updates the first official ESG reporting guidelines for WSE-listed issuers published in 2021, also developed in conjunction with the EBRD. It comes amid an accelerated global shift to financing green and sustainable assets, driven by growing awareness of the urgency of the world’s climate crisis and consequent government policy, stakeholder pressure and increased scrutiny from institutional investors.
Recent regulatory developments in the European Union (EU) and the launch of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) sustainability standards have fast-tracked the sustainability and transparency agenda, necessitating an update for companies wishing to integrate ESG reporting and disclosure practices into their operations.
The guidance provides practical tools to support issuers in disclosing ESG data, in line with the needs of investors. In particular, it addresses the requirements of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which covers nearly 4,000 entities in Poland, with a view to reporting European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) indicators. It also contains recommendations on the list of key ESG indicators desired by global stock-market investors.
"The EBRD is committed to supporting Poland in its transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy, in line with the EU's principles of sustainable finance, and we are pleased to once again support the WSE as our partner in the preparation of the ESG reporting guidelines”, said Elisabetta Falcetti, EBRD Regional Director for Poland and the Baltic States. “The revision of the guidelines takes into account new regulatory requirements and growing demand for consistent and comparable ESG data on individual companies. The aim of the guidelines is to support the transition towards a climate-neutral, green, competitive and inclusive economy, as well as the WSE's position as a regional leader in sustainable development. We plan to continue supporting capital markets and our clients in reporting sustainability data.”
“A number of capital market institutions were involved in the process of updating the guidelines, recognising the need to improve the quality of ESG reporting,” said Izabela Olszewska, a member of the WSE Management Board. “I would like to thank the EBRD, Steward Redqueen and all the other institutions involved in the development of the guidelines for their cooperation and sharing of knowledge and experience. Thanks to joint work supported by knowledge, many years of experience and in-depth analysis, a complementary set of information has been created that can be a useful source for both report authors and users.”
“The latest version of the ESG reporting guidelines is the result of many months of hard work, as a result of which a significant part of the original text has been updated and expanded,” said Magdalena Krzysztofik, Head of the CEE Region at Steward Redqueen. “Our goal was to create a document that takes into account EU regulations and international sustainability reporting standards. Above all, the guidelines discuss in detail the CSRD and ESRS standards, and contain a number of practical tips and information to make it easier for Polish companies to comply with the new reporting obligations. We would like to thank the WSE and the EBRD for their cooperation and for entrusting us once again with the preparation of this important document.”
The WSE Group (GPW Group) operates trading platforms for shares, treasury and corporate bonds, derivatives, electricity and natural gas, and provides indices and benchmarks, such as the Warsaw Interbank Bid Rate (WIBID) and the Warsaw Interbank Offered Rate (WIBOR). In 2018, the FTSE Russell Index agency classified the Polish capital market as a developed market. The markets operated by the GPW Group are the largest in central and eastern Europe.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Poland and has invested more than €13.4 billion in 512 projects across the country to date. Supporting Poland’s transition to a low-carbon economy and further developing its capital markets and the role of its private sector are two key priorities of the EBRD’s work in Poland.