Sustainable Trading Initiative Attracts More Members

Sustainable Trading, the non-profit organisation dedicated to transforming environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices in the trading industry, has welcomed an additional 11 financial services organisations into its membership network.

The network, which launched in February 2022 with 30 founding members, has now added Capital Group, Cboe Europe, Citi, Cowen, Fidelity International, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Goodbody, Northern Trust, Verne Global and Wellington Management to its roster. This demonstrates, the initiative says, a collective commitment to driving positive ESG change in their own businesses, and to drive change right across the industry.

“We are delighted to welcome this prestigious group of firms to Sustainable Trading,” says founder and director Duncan Higgins. “Their enthusiasm to participate, and their commitment to contributing time, resources and expertise, reflects the increasing importance of ESG considerations in firms’ decision-making frameworks. This spirit of collaboration will accelerate the pace of ESG change within the trading industry.”

Sustainable Trading member organisations bring experience and expertise to focused Environmental, Social and Governance workstreams tasked with defining a portfolio of ESG best practices, tailored to the trading industry, for use within member firms. Sustainable Trading will also oversee a benchmarking and transparency framework to enable clear and efficient communication of progress on best practice, facilitating an ethos of continuous ESG improvement.

“As we continue on our sustainability journey, we recognise the importance of developing ESG best practices to shape a more sustainable future for financial markets trading,” says Martin Tormey, chief executive of Goodbody. “The opportunity to collaborate, learn and share ideas with our industry peers to effect positive change at both firm and industry level is a huge draw for us.”

James Chenery, sales director, Verne Global, adds, “With consumers, employees and other stakeholders expecting meaningful ESG change in 2022 and beyond, it is becoming more imperative for financial services organisations to minimise the impact of their operations.” Membership of the initiative is open to all financial market participants engaged in trading activity or providing trading-related services.