SEC to boost sustainability among SMLEs

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working on ways to further boost sustainability among small, medium and large enterprises (SMLEs) in the country.

The SEC said it is exploring potential collaborations to support SMLEs in sustainability reporting.

According to the commission, this may include developing a standardized reporting template and encouraging reporting on a comply-or-explain basis to ensure the consistent submission of sustainability data.

The SEC is likewise seeks to expand its recently launched Sustainability Enterprise Collaboration Network, or eSECnature, where it aims to unite organizations both in the public and private sectors in develop new ideas, best practices and promising strategies toward its vision of a sustainable capital market and business sector.

In line with its efforts in championing sustainability, the commission has recently received the top honors from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The SEC received the ISAR Honours 2024 in the national category for empowering SMLEs in reporting their contributions to the fulfillment of national and global sustainable development goals.

The ISAR Honours recognizes policy, institutional or capacity-building initiatives that encourage and assist businesses to publish their contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and facilitating the dissemination of good practices in sustainability.

“It is an honor for the SEC Philippines to receive the prestigious ISAR Honours for the third time, as we have been steadily ramping up our efforts to highlight the importance of sustainability reporting in the corporate sector,” SEC chairperson Emilio Aquino said.

“The corporate sector has a big role to play in ensuring that we achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As a regulator, the SEC is committed to integrating sustainable practices within our organization and in the rules and regulations that we implement, in order to contribute to the overall goal of reducing the impacts of climate change,” Aquino said.

The SEC first received the ISAR Honours in 2019 for mandating sustainability and SDG reporting for publicly listed companies.

In 2022, it bagged the ISAR Honours for conducting capacity-building programs to guide publicly listed companies in preparing their annual sustainability reports.

Through its Small and Medium Industries and Large Enterprises Embracing Sustainability Roadshow, the SEC capacitates SMLEs on sustainability reporting practices through knowledge sharing, best practice examples and interactive discussions.

The SEC has conducted roadshows in Cebu, Davao and Baguio City and plans are underway for Legazpi, Bacolod/Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro in 2025, as well as Tarlac, Tacloban and Zamboanga in 2026.