(Yicai) May 23 -- The Shanghai Futures Exchange and its subsidiary, the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, have become the first futures exchanges on the Chinese mainland to join the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, a global sustainable investment platform.

The SHFE and INE were approved to join the initiative, which seeks to advance environmental, social, and governance transparency in capital markets, Yicai learned during the 2025 Shanghai Derivatives Market Forum yesterday.

Established in 2009, the UN SSE initiative is co-organized by several UN-affiliated bodies, including the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the UN Global Compact, and the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative. More than 100 exchanges around the world, including the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, have joined the platform.

The SHFE said its participation reflects efforts to implement key directives from China's Central Financial Work Conference -- a high-level policy meeting held every five years -- which calls for progress in science and technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance, as well as stronger international cooperation in green finance.

In addition, the SHFE aims to align with the UN's sustainable development goals. The exchange plans to learn from international ESG best practices, foster peer-to-peer engagement, promote its own sustainable development agenda, and accelerate its transformation into a world-class exchange. The SHFE also hopes to contribute insights into how global derivatives exchanges can advance SDGs, thereby boosting the international profile of China’s futures market.

The SHFE is one of China’s key derivatives trading venues. Its subsidiary, the INE, specializes in energy products and is known for its yuan-denominated crude oil futures, which are open to foreign investors.

The latest two-day Shanghai Derivatives Market Forum, co-hosted by the SHFE and the China Financial Futures Exchange, concluded today in Shanghai. Since its launch in 2004, the forum has evolved into a key event for exchange and cooperation within China’s futures industry.

Editor: Emmi Laine