The UN SSE initiative was introduced to promote corporate sustainability and inclusivity through the advancement of ESG practices, and also to set a sustainable investments trend aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals “SDGs”. SDGs call for:

Being a member state Oman Vision 2040 has incorporates SDG’s into development strategies across the board. MSX follows suite through set ESG initiate.

ESG is a set of socially and environmentally responsible standards that are adopted by institutions to encourage sustainable and socially responsible practices.  Globally, there is a shift in Investors’ behavior where they assess investments considering non-financial factors.  ESG stands for Environmental, Social & Governance, a 3-way compliance ensuring sustainable development of business.

These three elements are the key factors for investors to measure the sustainability and societal impact of the companies’ activities.

MSX identifies its market components conduct to be in line with the following;

Environmental

The responsible dealing with environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources and the preservation of environment on the long run. This demonstrates the company’s activities effects on the environment i.e. energy use, carbon footprint, waste and pollution, consumption of depleting natural resources, clean energy initiatives, recycling,  and other initiatives to adopt more green and sustainable activities i.e. Net zero initiatives, changing to renewable energy, etc.

Social

The responsible social activities by the company to protect the social welfare of employees, workers, suppliers, and the community it operates and thrives in. This includes diversity and inclusivity practices that align with the universal human rights standards, and principles of fair trading and ethical financial practices , in addition to the company’s contributions to developing the local communities, these include practices such as Health/Safety & Wellness, Working conditions, Employee Benefits, Diversity and Inclusion, Human Rights, local community impact. Etc.

Governance

This refers to the mechanisms and process by which the company is managed (the structure and the composition of the company’s board of directors’ members and their independence, and the legality of its activities) this is assessed to view the alignment of leaderships’ vision to stakeholders, and to assess the transparency, accountability, and legality of the company.

MSX is committed to providing an ecosystem for sustainable business practices. As part of this commitment, the Sustainable Investment (SI) section has evolved into the SI Center. The SI Center not only monitors ESG practices within MSX but also takes a comprehensive approach by overseeing and supporting listed companies in disclosing their ESG practices and initiatives through a multilateral governance framework. This framework encompasses ancillary reports, guidelines, and projects, preparing local listed companies for the global shift towards mandatory ESG disclosures in sustainable investment development.

In alignment with these efforts, MSX launched the MSX ESG guidelines and introduced the platform in 2023. This initiative not only emphasizes MSX's dedication to imposing ESG disclosures on listed companies but also reinforces ethical business practices and corporate governance standards. The evolution of the SI section to the SI Center further demonstrates MSX's proactive role in fostering sustainability within its operations and among listed companies.

1- Green initiatives, environment friendly initiatives. These include;

ü  Reducing the use of single-use plastic bottles and eliminating them completely by the end of 2025. There has been a 22.27% decrease in the cost of single-use plastic water bottles per employee between 2022 and 2023.

ü  Reducing the use and waste of paper through digitizing all documents and centralized and controlled printing services.

ü  Awareness campaigns to encourage recycling and adopt “environment- friendly” practices. 

ü  Efficient use of energy through reducing consumption and shifting to smarter systems.

ü  Switching to clean/ alternative energy to operate MSX facilities.

ü  Managing waste and introducing recycling initiatives.

ü  Reducing the use and consumption of water through installing dynamic systems that work by sensors.

2-Ethical investment, diversity, employee wellness.

ü  Implementing gender inclusive and diverse policies and practices by providing equal opportunities and equal pay

ü  Eliminating any gender discriminatory practices, such as gender specifications (f/m) in job postings. As a result, there has been a 25% increase in the number of female employees.

ü  Increasing employee turnover, through internal job postings /promotions \

ü  Enforcing modern HSE practices and increasing employee wellness by procuring special offers and discounts.

ü  Investing in staff development and training.

ü  Engaging with the local investor community regularly through workshops, seminars, and conferences to keep up transparent flow of information.

ü  Supporting local business to provide ethically sourced products and services.

ü  Introducing graduate training programs to provider paid internships to local fresh graduates.

3-Corporate Governance practices.  

ü  Maintaining the separation between CEO and Chairman’s functions.

ü  Maintaining a non-executive board of directors.

ü  Ensuring complete compliance with applicable laws and regulations and shareholder guidelines and regulations.

Stemming from the Muscat Stock Exchange's keenness to play its pivotal role in creating a solid financial culture and supporting the sustainable economic development objectives. MSX, in cooperation with the GCC financial markets, has issued a "ESG Disclosure Guidance for Listed Companies" for companies listed in the GCC region. MSX is also working on preparing a guideline that would ensure listed companies' compliance with environmental, social and corporate governance standards in accordance with international best practices.

ESG Disclosure Guidance for Listed Companies

Unified GCC ESG Disclosure Metrcis