Zimbabwe's main stock exchange has issued a practice note on mandatory reporting of companies' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, and one company in particular is taking full advantage.
Per the Guardian, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange issued a practice note in November 2023, and as of Jan.
1, 2024, all companies listed on the exchange will be required to report on their ESG practices.
It's "an effort to raise the significance of sustainability reporting to the level of financial reporting, while establishing transparent, comparable information regarding companies' environment, social, and governance (ESG) performance," writes Eva Tapera, a certified expert in ESG and impact investing at the World Wildlife Fund, in an op-ed for the Guardian.
She notes that while "mere pledges to go green and be socially responsible and transparent are not enough, they need to back their commitments with verifiable action."
In her op-ed, Tapera notes that companies are starting to realize that "what happens in the EU does not necessarily stay in there, therefore, companies exporting into that market need to start embracing sustainability in their strategies and operations."
She adds that "when people talk about sustainability reporting, the one thing I hear the most is what ESG material issues do we