Oxygen platform, new green index, and Global Reporting Initiative license
In the past few months, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange AD (BSE) has provided several important updates related to the application of ESG principles.
To start with, since the beginning of 2024 both public and private companies have been able to use the BSE Group’s Oxygen Exchange platform (Oxygen). According to the BSE, Oxygen is a leading sustainability management platform that supports the efforts of organizations to build a sustainable business and allows them to calculate their carbon footprint.
The BSE also revealed that, in 2024, the stock exchange will launch a new green index for companies that have the most sustainable performance and the best ESG rating. To calculate ESG ratings, the BSE has established a partnership with one of the world's most renowned data providers, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), whereby the ESG ratings will subsequently be available in the LSEG's database, making ESG information for Bulgarian companies visible to major foreign investors.
In mid-January 2024, the BSE further announced that Oxygen has become the only instrument in Bulgaria licensed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), enabling businesses to report quickly and easily following all European and international ESG standards. In addition to carbon footprint measurement, Oxygen’s offer was enhanced to include non-financial statements as well, including the GRI report, corporate governance statement, and access to the LSEG (former Refinitiv) Data & Analytics platform where companies can input ESG data to obtain an ESG rating.
