SEC transfers Green Equity label accreditation to PSE
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has transferred the authority to grant the Philippine Green Equity label to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), as part of efforts to simplify accreditation and align the process with international standards.
The SEC issued Memorandum Circular No. 30, Series of 2026, on 3 November, adopting revised guidelines that also authorize the PSE to accredit external reviewers and give companies an additional year to comply fully with sustainable finance taxonomy requirements.
“As regulator of the Philippine capital market, we recognize the Commission’s role in promoting sustainable development in the business sector. This is the vision that guided us when we issued the first Green Equity Label guidelines in Southeast Asia last year,” SEC Chairperson Francis Lim said.
“The amended guidelines reflect our commitment to continuously update our rules in line with global trends, to ensure a more seamless and accessible process for our stakeholders,” he added.
Under the revised rules, the PSE will process applications for the label and conduct continuing monitoring, subject to SEC regulatory oversight. The Exchange must notify the Commission within five days of granting a label, providing relevant application details and the basis for its approval.
The PSE may also establish accreditation rules for external review providers, incorporating the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum Code of Conduct for External Review Providers of Sustainable Financing Instruments.
It may suspend, revoke or terminate a provider’s accreditation after due notice and hearing for violations of applicable standards. The SEC may review such decisions and set them aside if it finds no accreditation standards were breached.
Meanwhile, the revised guidelines extend by one year the transition period for full alignment with either the Philippine Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Guidelines or the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance.
During the transition, administrative penalties and sanctions will not apply. Applicants must still disclose how their covered green activities substantially contribute to at least one environmental objective.
Full taxonomy alignment will become mandatory after the transition period for the initial grant, retention or renewal of the Green Equity label.