SEC Launched the Sustainable Enterprise Collaboration Network (eSECnature)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking the lead towards a more sustainable capital market and business sector by bringing together corporations and members of both the public and private sector to call for a greener, low-carbon and sustainable economy.

​The Commission today launched the Sustainable Enterprise Collaboration Network (eSECnature), which seeks to link corporations, government organizations, multilateral and civil society organizations to further deepen the corporate sector’s participation in sustainability initiatives and accelerate the country’s attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Members of the network will push for collaboration and participation in knowledge-sharing activities, as well as policy advocacy initiatives to help one another integrate and adopt sustainable practices in their operations.

They will also work toward ensuring the ethical and responsible conduct of business operations and advocacies, reducing their carbon footprint, and supporting the digitalization, zero-contact, and paperless initiatives of the government.

"Through this network, we aim to unite organizations both in the public and private sectors to collaborate in developing best practices, new ideas, and successful strategies toward our vision of a sustainable capital market and business sector,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said.

"We believe that the adoption of sustainable practices will have a significant impact in improving the state of our capital markets and, more importantly, the economy. As we see more companies comply with ESG standards, we can look forward to the entry of more investments into the country that can further drive our economic growth,” he added.

The eSECnature Campaign also focuses on digital enablement to reduce the corporate sector’s overall carbon footprint.

Since 2020, the SEC has endeavored to pursue sustainability through digital transformation, in a bid to not only make its operations more sustainable but also to improve the ease of doing business.

The first digital platforms launched included the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC), its subsystem One day Submission and E-registration of Companies (OneSEC); Electronic Filing and Submission Tool (eFAST); and Electronic System for Payment to SEC (eSPAYSEC). These services automated the Commission’s key processes in company registration, reports submission, and payment of fees.

Last year, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. himself launched the second wave of SEC digital initiatives, which included the Electronic SEC Universal Registration Environment (eSECURE), Electronic SEC Education, Analysis and Research Computing Hub (eSEARCH), SEC API Marketplace, Electronic Registry Application for Market Participants (eRAMP), and SEC Check App 2.0.

These initiatives are estimated to have reduced the Commission’s carbon footprint by over 3,500 tons from 2021 to 2023. In the same period, it was also able to save more than 10,000 trees, equivalent to about 85 million sheets of paper that would have been used in manual transactions.

The SEC is slated to launch five new digital initiatives this week to further make stakeholders’ transactions easier in line with sustainability efforts.

The pursuit of sustainability is part of the Commission’s mandate to promote good corporate governance among the sector it oversees.

In 2019, the Commission issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 4, Series of 2019, or the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Publicly Listed Companies (PLCs), which helped PLCs in evaluating their non-financial performance and monitoring their progress towards meeting sustainability goals.

The SEC also issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 11, Series of 2022, outlining the Rules on Sustainable and Responsible Investment Funds (SRIF) for qualified investment companies.

Guidelines for the issuance of sustainability-linked bonds, incorporating the ASEAN Sustainability-linked Bond Standards, have likewise been issued to encourage companies to align their financial objectives with sustainable practices.

Earlier this month, the SEC launched the SECFoRest, which details the Commission’s plans to plant over 16,000 trees covering a 10-hectare area in the Angat River Watershed in Norzagaray, Bulacan. The Commission chose the location due to the significance of Angat Dam as it accounts for 97% of Metro Manila’s water supply.

The Commission has received several awards and recognitions for leading the charge toward sustainability. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has conferred the SEC with The International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) Honours in 2019 and 2022 for promoting sustainability by requiring PLCs to submit sustainability reports annually.

It is also a recipient of London-based Cambridge International Financial Advisory’s 3G Championship Award in ESG Practices. In 2021 and 2023, the SEC was also named as one of the Circle of Excellence Awardees for the Best Sustainability Company of the Year in the 12th Asia CEO Awards and the14th Asia CEO Awards, respectively.