site.btaBulgarian Stock Exchange Launches Oxygen Initiative

The Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) and its subsidiary Financial Market Services in partnership with the European technology company Plan A have launched the Oxygen initiative.

It enables Bulgarian companies to measure and report on their environmental, social and governance impact (ESG) by assessing their carbon footprint and other ESG-related indicators.

The Oxygen initiative enables companies to automate ESG measurement and reporting, and adhere to global standards, said Manyu Moravenov, CEO of BSE.

Beyond regular disclosure of financial and accounting information, reporting and effective management of ESG indicators can bring significant benefits to companies in terms of access to capital, cost reduction and efficiency, risk management, revenue growth and expansion, value and reputation of the company, regulatory compliance and human capital, including retention and hiring of employees.

With the help of Oxygen, companies can assess the impact of their business on the environment by entering data and processing it quickly in a few easy steps in Bulgarian. The platform contains an electronic questionnaire with over 200 questions, structured in several sections: environment, corporate governance, social affairs and employment, human rights protection, anti-corruption and a calculator for the company's carbon footprint, which is one of the biggest advantages of the platform.

The official launch of the Oxygen initiative was attended by Assoc. Prof. Moravenov, Gergana Papadopoulou, CEO of Financial Market Services, and Lyubomila Yordanova, founder and CEO of Plan A, as well as over 30 representatives of leading companies trading on the Bulgarian stock exchange.