The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) and MSCI conducted on October 28, 2025 the second session of ESG 101 for Listed Companies webinar, entitled: Regional Developments and Practical Guidance in ISSB Adoption, which was attended by more than 150 participants from publicly-listed companies (PLC). The first session, entitled, MSCI ESG Ratings and Trends in Labelled Bonds was held on December 12, 2023.

The agenda included updates on the jurisdictional adoption of ISSB Standards within the Asia Pacific region, as well as practical guidance for the adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS SI and IFRS S2).

The event was particularly relevant for Philippine-based PLCs following the Securities and Exchange Commission releasing last October 24 the amended draft guidelines that reference the IFRS SI and $2 standards.

PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon highlighted in his remarks the PSE'S role in equipping listed firms with capacity-building sessions to enhance market readiness for the application of ISSB standards. "While there is no question that ISSB standards adoption can be a challenging endeavor, we at the Exchange take the position that adoption is necessary so we speak the same language in terms of sustainability disclosures for the benefit of all stakeholders. The standards provide a global baseline for sustainability reporting such that primary users of general-purpose financial statements can compare the sustainability-related disclosures of different companies when making investment decisions."

MSCI APAC Vice President and Climate Specialist Lead Claudio Saffioti and MSCI APAC Sustainability & Climate Specialist Esther Um discussed key regional trends, operational challenges, and opportunities emerging as organizations across ASEAN work to integrate ISSB standards into their sustainability reporting and transition planning.

PSE Chief Operating Officer and Sustainability Unit Head Atty. Roel A. Refran shared key takeaways and core principles for the attendees. Atty. Refran emphasized that the business case for sustainability has to be established toto get buy-in from internal stakeholders. He alsc shared that the ISSB standards adoption opt and iimplementation by PLCs will require a cultural and paradigm shift within the organization.