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.

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