Nasdaq 2024 Summary Sustainability Report
Powering Resilient Growth
This summary highlights key initiatives from Nasdaq’s 2024 Sustainability Report, featuring our efforts in workforce engagement, ethical governance, environmental stewardship, and client and community support. For details see our full 2024 Sustainability and TCFD Report.
A Letter from Adena Friedman,
Nasdaq Chair & CEO
"I am proud of Nasdaq’s unwaveringcommitment to powering resilient growth across the global economy. Over the course of the year, we made substantial progresson our vision to be the trusted fabric of the world’s financial system by helping our clients solve their most complex challenges."
Q&A with Nasdaq’s CFO and Co-Chair of the Corporate Sustainability Steering Committee
Nasdaq’s clients across the financial system face anincreasingly complex operating environment as they navigate regulatory pressures, disparate reporting requirements, and rising compliance costs. From our position at the intersection of technology and the financial system,we play a unique role in helping our clients navigate these evolving requirements as they execute their own sustainability objectives and strategies.
Innovation and Technology
Nasdaq leverages technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to drive better outcomes for clients and enhance global market resiliency, performance, scalability, and liquidity. In 2024, Nasdaq demonstrated its commitment to innovation and technology by integrating generative AI into its market surveillance offering, enhancing regulatory compliance through AI and data science, and streamlining dual listing processes.
AI In the Product and On the Business
Enhanced Verafin’s robust suite of AI based Targeted Typology Analytics, with new detection capabilities for terrorist financing and drug trafficking activity
Enhanced our global market surveillance offering with Generative AI
Introduced AI-powered features in Nasdaq Boardvantage® through a collaboration with Microsoft
In partnership with AWS, we announced a modernization blueprint to drive the benefits of cloud into local market infrastructures
Deliver Long-Term Value to Stakeholders
Our Strategic Approach to Sustainability
Nasdaq’s approach to sustainability is focused both internally – by managing our businesses’ sustainability-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 sustainability 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 sustainability practices across our organization.
Attract and retain a motivated workforce by fostering an engaging workplace culture where all employees can achieve their full potential.
Maintain robust corporate governance policies and practices.
Minimize our environmental footprint, meet our net-zero goals, and solidify our business against long-term climate risks. |
External Impact
Support | Enable |
Support our clients by providing relevant insights and innovative solutions designed to help them navigate the evolving sustainability ecosystem.
|
Enable positive outcomes through the economic and societal impact inherent to the solutions and services of our wider business.
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"We solidify our own business resilience anddeliver long-term value to our stakeholders by managing our climate-related risks and advancing sustainable business practices across our entire organization."
Our Support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Nasdaq’s public commitment to sustainable development and socially responsible business practices began in 2012 at the Rio+20 conference, where Nasdaq was one of five founding signatories to the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative. Since 2012, Nasdaq has also been a proud participant of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), a non-binding pact that encourages businesses to adopt sustainable and socially responsible practices, report on their progress, and advance the achievement of the SDGs.
The SDGs are 17 global goals and 169 targets adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 with the aim of achieving a better and more sustainable future for all. Nasdaq’s commitment to the SDGs has been recognized by investment firms, including Macquarie for meeting qualifications for inclusion in SDG-focused funds.
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Listings – U.S.
- Provide all-inclusive fee structure, encouraging growth of SMEs
- Hosted annual Small Cap Forum, focused on key topics and issues that impact small- and micro-cap companies
- Provided curated content specifically for the SME community through Nasdaq Amplify, including timely articles, editorials, and market and regulatory updates
First North Growth Market – Nordics
- Seven companies transferred from Nasdaq’s First North Growth Market to Nasdaq’s Main Market in 2024
Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center
- Empowered over 10,000 entrepreneurs and supported small businesses across 90 countries
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Capital Markets Technology
- Launched a Latin American Markets Study focused on evaluating the landscape with aims to unlock and advance international capital flows into the region
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Sustainability Solutions
- Added Sustainable Lens® functionality in Nasdaq Metrio’s Framework & Disclosure Management module
- Expanded Nasdaq Metrio™ carbon accounting capabilities to help clients calculate and track their emissions to better understand their carbon footprint
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Decarbonization & Climate Strategy
Extended our purchase on 100% renewable electricity to cover Adenza operations
Evaluating and Engaging Our Supply Chain
As a CDP Supply Chain corporate member, we requested our top suppliers disclose their environmental data through CDP’s Climate Change survey
Surpassed our goal by requesting over 200 suppliers respond to the CDP survey
Sustainability Solutions
Hosted second annual NY Climate Week Conference at MarketSite
Hosted inaugural San Francisco Climate Week Conference
Nasdaq Sustainable Debt Market
- Over €70 billion of total listed outstanding sustainable debt volume on NSDM, (up from €61.8B in 2023)
Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network
- 1,800+ of total issuers on NSBN (up from ~1,720 in 2023)
Capital Markets Technology
- Launched a Global Carbon Market Survey evaluating the process and technology challenges and solutions to help carbon markets institutionalize
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
Memberships
Accounting for Sustainability (A4S)
Business Roundtable (BRT) “Purpose of a Corporation”
CDP Supply Chain
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 Exchange (SSE) Initiative
United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) Advisory Group on Carbon Markets
World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) – Sustainability Working Group
Select Awards & Recognition
Our Sustainability-Related Ratings
| Current Score | Highlights | Score Range |
| AA | Highest scoring range for Corporate Governance, placing us in the Leader category and indicating that our corporate governance practices are well aligned with shareholder interests | AAA–CCC |
| Current Score | Highlights | Score Range |
Environment: 1 Social: 1 Governance: 1 | Our QualityScores indicate a high level of environmental and social disclosure, and a low governance risk | 1–10 (1 = lowest risk) |
| Current Score | Highlights | Score Range |
65 97thpercentile | Included in the Dow Jones Best-in-Class World Index for the first time Included in the Dow Jones Best-in-Class North America Index for the ninth consecutive year Included in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2024 | 0–100 (100 = best) |
| Current Score | Highlights | Score Range |
| B | Score is based on the comprehensiveness of disclosure, awareness and management of environmental risks, and demonstration of environmental leadership CDP Supplier Engagement Assessment (SEA) 2024 A-list – recognized for our efforts to measure and reduce climate risk within our supply chain | AAA–CCC |
| Current Score | Highlights | Score Range |
70 (Silver) 89th percentile | EcoVadis Silver Medal | 0–100 (100 = best) |
| Current Score | Highlights | Score Range |
| 13.2* | Low risk of experiencing significant financial impacts from ESG factors | 0–10 (negligible risk) 10–20 (low risk) 20–30 (medium risk) 30–40 (high risk) 40+ (severe risk) |
Note: Ratings are as of April 1, 2025. 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 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.
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