United Nations SDGs

Supporting the global agenda on sustainable development

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call for action by all countries, developed and developing, in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and preserving our oceans and forests.

The JSE has prioritised six SDGs that are aligned with our business.

We acknowledge that the JSE can use its position to advance gender equality both internally and externally in alignment with the national agenda and the UN SDGs.

The JSE promotes gender equality within the organisation by supporting a gender-neutral parental leave policy. The direct support of the goal is the gender-based violence policy which provides victim support and mandatory staff training on gender-based violence.

We have conducted extensive research to understand how companies, countries and exchanges are closing the gender equality gap. We looked at key elements that drive gender equality, namely representation and participation, equal pay and gender-equal caregiving. Studies indicate that improving these elements the gender parity gap. These insights informed the development of the JSE’s Gender Equality Strategy.

Our gender equality activities complement existing government initiatives and align with the best practices outlined in Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative guidance paper on how stock exchanges can promote gender equality.

The JSE supports quality education through the JSE Empowerment Fund, which grants university bursaries to previously disadvantaged individuals.

We partner with CSI organisations focused on education, including financial literacy. A substantial portion of our funding is spent on educational projects.

We drive financial literacy through our flagship initiative, the JSE Investment Challenge, which uses a game to teach high school learners and university students the fundamentals of investing through the stock exchange.

The JSE sponsors chartered financial analyst (CFA) (level 1) students to attend extra classes through Novia One Group. We provide Fundisa funding to learners from low-income families to pay for quality accredited qualifications at a public college or university.

The JSE provides ongoing education for its employees through enabling immersive and engaging learner experiences to reskill and upskill employees.
JSE employees use the JSE Training Academy digital platform for essential training and mandatory courses. In some cases, this is augmented with access to bespoke subject-matter educational platforms and coaching programmes for high potential leaders.

JSE provides employer-sponsored study for bachelor’s degrees, MBA programmes and other accredited qualifications.

Our employment and remuneration practices and CSI spend reduce inequalities in various forms.

We are a responsible consumer of electricity, water and paper. We use a technical expert in carbon footprint reports to review our calculations and strengthen our carbon reporting and the scope of what we cover.

In direct support of target 12.6 (encourage companies, especially large and trans-national companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle) we have issued guidance to our market on Sustainability Disclosure and Climate Change Disclosure.

We advance climate action through our various advocacy roles, such as co-chairing the development of the climate change model guidance for stock exchanges and our own climate change disclosure guidance for our market.

Our platform to list green, social and sustainability bonds allows capital flows to SDG outcomes such as renewable energy production, which advances SDG13 and other SDGs.

The JSE funds CSI projects that support client action, including sponsoring training on climate change, green businesses and carbon finance.

Partnerships are critical for the advancement of the SDG’s. The JSE works closely with the United Nations Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance (GISD), co-chaired by the JSE Group CEO. This alliance leverages finance and investment know-how to scale up private-sector contributions to the annual funding gap of the SDGs.

We are a member and an active contributor to the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative.

The JSE is a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, a partner and a member of the WFE Sustainability Working Group (SWG) and the Africa Integrated Reporting Committee.