Introduction

    A Letter from Adena Friedman, Nasdaq Chair & CEO

    Headshot photography of Adena Friedman, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq.

    At Nasdaq, our purpose is to advance economic progress for all. Our purpose and the pursuit of our vision – to be the trusted fabric of the world’s financial system – not only shape our corporate sustainability strategy, but also inform the role that we play in helping to solve our clients’ most complex challenges.

    Q&A with Nasdaq’s CFO and Co-Chair of the Corporate ESG Steering Committee

    Sarah Youngwood

    As Nasdaq and our clients navigate the complexity of an evolving ESG ecosystem, we are committed to advancing initiatives that can be upheld for the long-term – and the groundwork we laid in recent years will help us do just that.

    Nasdaq has a long history of disrupting, leading and innovating – from launching the first electronic exchange in 1971 to migrating our second U.S. options market to the cloud in 2023. We continue to leverage technology to solve our clients’ most critical challenges and better serve the financial system globally.

    AI in the Product and on the Business

    Launched AI-powered Sustainable Lens™

    CoPilot and Targeted AI Analytics for Financial Crime Management Technology

    SEC approved first exchange AI-powered order type

    Five AI opportunities aligned around structural thematics: coding, content, data, workflow, automation, algorithmic intelligence

    Aiming for 100% AI tools available to all employees by end of 2024

    Our ESG Journey

    2023 Year in Review

    Our Strategic Approach to Sustainability

    Nasdaq’s approach to ESG is focused both internally – by managing our businesses’ ESG-related risks and opportunities and the corresponding impact we have as an organization across our own operations – and externally – by the impact we have on the world through the focused ESG products and services that support our clients’ objectives, as well as the wider economic and societal impact across other key parts of our business and operations.

    Corporate Sustainability


    Solidify

     

    Solidify business resilience and drive sustainable growth by managing and reducing long-term risks and advancing ESG practices across our entire organization.

    • Environmental: Reduce our environmental impact and carbon footprint while managing climate risk across our operations.
    • Social: Attract and retain a diverse, motivated workforce and foster a workplace culture of inclusivity and belonging.
    • Governance: Maintain robust corporate governance policies and practices.

     

     

    External Impact


    Support
    Enable

     

    Support our clients by providing relevant insights and innovative technology designed to help them achieve their ESG-related objectives.

    • ESG Solutions: Our future-forward expertise, tools and technologies empower purpose and drive impact, helping build sustainable markets and resilient businesses. 
       
      From ESG reporting tools and data feeds to ESG- centric indices and sustainable bonds, we support our clients’ ESG strategies with innovative offerings designed to increase transparency and reduce friction.

     

    Enable positive outcomes through the economic and societal impact inherent to the solutions and services of our wider business.

    • Financial Technology: We provide mission-critical capital markets, regulatory and financial crime management technology solutions to the financial services industry while advancing industrywide modernization.
       
    • Purpose: Our purpose-led initiatives drive economic progress and impact across the communities we serve.

     

    Our Support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    At Nasdaq, the SDGs help guide our sustainability strategy and connect our efforts to an ambitious global agenda. We conducted an assessment to identify the SDGs where we believe Nasdaq is likely to have the greatest impact. Leveraging SDG mapping and disclosure guidance from GRI, SASB, UN SSE and the UNGC, we assessed the alignment of the SDGs in relation to the high-priority topics identified in our assessment of priority ESG topics, our corporate ESG objectives and activities, our products and services and our industry. We identified and prioritized seven SDGs where we are likely to have the most direct impact. We are reporting our progress against our corporate and commercial objectives that support these seven SDGs.

    Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls

    Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

    • Nearly a five-percentage point increase in the hiring of women and underrepresented minorities  
    • Graduated our first Accelerate(HER) cohort 

    Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

    Listings – U.S.

    • Maintained largest percentage of small cap companies of any U.S. exchange (over 70%)

    First North Growth Market – Nordics

    • As of year-end 2023, more than 500 companies were listed on First North Growth Market in the Nordics 

    Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center

    • Served 20,700 entrepreneurs and supported small business across 140 countries, including emerging economies 

    Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

    Capital Markets Technology

    • As of year-end 2023, our marketplace technology was deployed in 25+ emerging economies 

    Reduce inequality within and among countries

    Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

    • Nearly a five-percentage point increase in the hiring of women and underrepresented minorities 

    Supplier Diversity

    • Engaged with 157 diverse suppliers, amounting to over $2.1 million in diverse supplier spend 

    The Nasdaq Foundation

    • During 2023, the Nasdaq Foundation provided 13 grants to support organizations and programs aligned with the Foundation’s mission to support under-resourced communities 

    Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center

    • Served 20,700 entrepreneurs, of which 70% were women and 79% were entrepreneurs of color

    Board Diversity Support

    • Established relationships with 14 organizations to support Nasdaq-listed companies in their search for highly qualified, diverse, board-ready candidates 

    Regulatory Technology

    • Integrated AxiomSL’s ESG regulatory reporting tools through our Adenza acquisition 

    Financial Crime Management Technology

    • Published the Nasdaq Verafin 2024 Global Financial Crime Report 

    Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

    ESG Solutions

    • Launched Nasdaq Sustainable Lens, an ESG intelligence platform that harnesses the power of AI
    • Nasdaq ESG Advisory engaged with 90+ clients on sustainability reporting matters 

    • 30 built-in frameworks and rating organization surveys on Nasdaq Metrio

    Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

    Decarbonization & Climate Strategy

    • Three additional buildings LEED Certified

    Evaluating and Engaging Our Supply Chain

    • Requested top suppliers by spend to respond to the CDP climate questionnaire, leading to inclusion on CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard 

    ESG Solutions

    • Hosted inaugural NY Climate Week Conference 

    • Hosted inaugural Stockholm ESG Summit 

    Nasdaq Sustainable Debt Market

    • 61.8 billion EUR of total listed outstanding sustainable debt volume on NSDM, representing 28% year-over-year growth

    Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network

    • 1,721 total NSBN issuers and 16,295 bonds covered 

    Capital Markets Technology

    • Pioneered a Carbon Trading & Registry Technology to scale global carbon markets 

    • Developed a carbon taxonomy framework 

    Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

    ESG Memberships

    • Business Roundtable (BRT) “Purpose of a Corporation” 
    • CDP Supply Chain 

    • Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) Sustainable Finance Task Force 

    • Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) 

    • Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Forum 

    • United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) 

    • United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) 

    • United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (UN SSE) Initiative 

    • World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) – Sustainability Working Group 

    Awards & Recognition

    We are proud that our continued commitment to advancing our ESG objectives and initiatives has earned us recognition from leading ESG organizations. Our 2023–2024 ESG-related recognitions include:

    ESG Ratings

    Current Score: AA

    Current Score: A

    Current Score: 61

    Current Score: 71 (Gold)

    Current Scores: 2 (Governance), 1 (Environmental & Social)

    Current Score: 13.2*

    Note: MSCI, ISS, CSA, CDP and EcoVadis ESG ratings are as of April 1, 2024. Sustainalytics rating is as of May 23, 2024. Nasdaq’s CSA score was updated to a 61 from a 60 on March 15, 2024. The use by Nasdaq of any MSCI ESG Research LLC or its affiliates (“MSCI”) data and the use of the MSCI logos, trademarks, service marks, or index names herein, do not constitute a sponsorship, endorsement, recommendation, or promotion of Nasdaq by MSCI. MSCI services and data are the property of MSCI or its information providers and are provided ’as-is’ and without warranty. MSCI names and logos are trademarks or service marks of MSCI.

    *Copyright ©2024 Morningstar Sustainalytics. All rights reserved. This Sustainability Report contains information developed by Sustainalytics. Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third-party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at https://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers.

     

     

     

     

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