The Paris Climate Agreement, which Russia signed in 2016, laid the ideological and legal foundation for a new global redistribution of capital flows in favor of markets that meet the needs of our time, but without prejudice to future generations. The signing compelled SPB Exchange to further study the topic of ESG. The world’s largest economies - the United States, China, and the European Union, have already declared their commitment to sustainable development goals and have chosen to pursue carbon neutrality by 2050.

SPB Exchange views ESG as a factor that can radically change the outlook and strategies of many companies in Russia and the rest of the world. ESG in Russia is still at an early stage, but support from the Bank of Russia has enabled market participants to form their own attitudes towards sustainable development goals and ESG financial products.

SPB Exchange is committed to enable businesses of various sizes and markets to participate in determining the future of the planet through the creation of the necessary infrastructure and green financial instruments.

In developing ESG objectives, SPB Exchange recognizes issues beyond environmental sustainability. The implementation of social sustainability and governance components are of no less importance. This includes, among other things, our commitment to gender equality, composition of top management, independence of board members and protection of minority shareholder rights. At SPB Exchange, we understand that ESG work never stops, and we are fully committed to achieve more in the future years of operation.

We recognize the importance of SMEs for the Russian economy, for its day-to-day operations and its growth potential. SMEs in Russia not only constitute a significant portion as taxpayers (more than 20%) and employers (more than 25%) to the overall economic activity, but more importantly, SMEs are a launchpad for any large and widely recognized business. Yet, SMEs face various hurdles on their path. The most significant and specific of these challenges is the financial gap. SPB Exchange is committed to narrowing the financial gap faced by SMEs. Our platform is open to SMEs from all over Russia. As it is stated in the Listing Rules of SPB Exchange, the Voshod (from the Russian word for “sunrise”) Segment and SME Segment welcome issuers. The Voshod Segment is a platform designed to provide financing to issuers of securities from the Far East – the most remote region of Russia, and the most distant from the formal financial markets and large financial institutions. Meanwhile, the SME Segment provides financing for SMEs from all across Russia.

SPB Exchange welcomes the recent initiative by APKIT (Association of Computer and Information Technology Enterprises) to establish the Council for Attracting Investments and Public Listings of IT companies. The new body aims to help companies in the IT sector, which is currently underrepresented in the public market, take advantage of the market dynamics to raise funds for development through public instruments. SPB Exchange is witnessing growing interest in securities from leading IT companies around the world, and Russian IT companies should take full advantage of this trend with the help of SPB Exchange.

SPB Exchange recognizes the importance of addressing the issue of climate change. SPB Exchange is committed to fully compliment the actions of policymakers by supporting the Net Zero 2050 initiative and the investors willing to participate in the financial aspect of the climate change challenge. SPB Exchange is actively engaged in the development and introduction of green finance products on the Russian market.