Maldives Stock Exchange is first to be CarbonNeutral®

PRLog (Press Release) - Jun 15, 2010 -
The Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE) is the first stock exchange in the world to achieve CarbonNeutral® company certification by working with The CarbonNeutral Company, a world leading provider of carbon reduction solutions, to measure and reduce its entire CO2 emissions.

The MSE measured the greenhouse gas emissions that it produced from the energy consumption, waste disposal, company owned and/or controlled vehicles, business travel and staff commuting and reduced these to net zero through carbon offsetting in accordance with the requirements of the CarbonNeutral Protocol.

Ibrahim Nasir, Chief Executive Officer, Maldives Stock Exchange, said “By adopting a leading environmental position within the financial services arena we hope to encourage listed companies within the stock exchange to also take action for the impact of their carbon emissions. Organisations that implement comprehensive carbon reduction programmes can enhance their corporate reputation by showing customers, staff and prospects that they are taking direct action against climate change.”

H.E Mohamed Nasheed, President of Maldives, explained, “A 1-meter rise in sea levels, which some climate scientists warn will happen if nothing is done to reduce carbon pollution, would be devastating for the Maldives. The government is doing everything we possibly can to remain here and that is why we have a plan to make the Maldives carbon neutral in ten years.”

Mohamed Aslam, Minister of Housing, Transport and Environment stated, “We applaud the work of the Maldives Stock Exchange as it is internationally leading its industry by taking responsibility for its carbon impact and helping to protect the Maldives.”

Rani Virdee, Managing Director Asia Pacific, The CarbonNeutral Company, said, “We would like to congratulate the MSE in becoming the first stock exchange in the world to be CarbonNeutral® certified. This innovative step taken by the MSE should highlight to other progressive organisations the importance of implementing carbon reduction programmes – to help protect the environment which in turn will enhance corporate reputation.”

Virdee continued, “Increasingly, investors and analysts are also looking at organisations’ carbon management activities when they value and invest in businesses. According to a recent Ernst & Young report (1), 43% of respondents believed that equity analysts are currently including climate change-related factors in the valuation of their company with a further 30% believe that analysts will incorporate climate change factors within the next five years - reducing carbon emissions is good for the environment and makes good business sense too.”

Notes to editors:
The Maldives Stock Exchange http://www.mse.com.mv/ first established on 14th April 2002 was operated by the Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) as part of the regulator.  However to separate the Exchange operation, Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE) was licensed as a private sector exchange by Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) on 23rd January 2008 under the Maldives Securities Act.

As such the MSE is operated by the Maldives Stock Exchange Company Pvt Ltd, effective from 24th January 2008.

The primary function of MSE is to facilitate companies raising capital through the issue of new securities. The secondary function of the MSE is to provide a regulated market for the trading of existing stocks between investors. The MSE is also the centre for trading, reporting and pricing of the stocks. The trading information is released to the public by the MSE ensuring transparency in market dealings.

The CarbonNeutral Company (www.carbonneutral.com) is a world leading provider of carbon reduction solutions.  It works with over 300 major businesses and hundreds of small and medium sized companies in 32 countries to develop offset inclusive carbon reduction programmes. Since 1997, it has purchased carbon credits from over 200 projects across six continents.

CarbonNeutral® is the registered trademark of The CarbonNeutral Company and is a global standard to certify that businesses have measured and reduced their CO2 emissions to net zero for their company, products, operations or services.  Permission to display the CarbonNeutral® mark is only given to clients whose carbon reduction programme is implemented in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. The Protocol assures quality of offset projects, carbon footprint assessments and communication and is regularly reviewed by an Independent Advisory Group.  The company’s ‘audit trail’ includes an annual independent verification of CarbonNeutral programs – from contracts with carbon offset partners through to contracts with clients and everything in between.

The CarbonNeutral Company has offices in New York, London and Singapore, with a network of associates in Japan and UAE. The CarbonNeutral Company is a founding member of The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA), which provides leadership and a unified voice advocating for rigorous industry standards www.icroa.org.

(1) Source: 'Action amid uncertainty: The business response to climate change', Ernst & Young report 2010