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ESG reporting · UAE capital markets

ESG reporting in the UAE: sustainability reports for SCA, ADX and DFM

Public joint stock companies listed in the UAE publish a sustainability report every year, and investors read it next to the accounts. Our advisory team helps listed companies and companies preparing to list produce reports that meet the regulator's rules and the ADX and DFM guidance, aligned with GRI, ISSB and TCFD.

At a glance

  • Listed public joint stock companies publish a sustainability report as part of their integrated reporting, under the corporate governance rules the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) adopted in 2020.
  • Since 1 January 2026 the SCA has been the Capital Market Authority (CMA), under Federal Decree-Laws No. (32) and (33) of 2025.
  • ADX (June 2025) and DFM (2025) each publish a voluntary ESG reporting guide with a recommended set of metrics, aligned with GRI, the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative.
  • Since 30 May 2025 the UAE climate law also requires greenhouse gas reporting to MOCCAE, so a listed company's emissions figures need to agree across both.
  • We prepare the report and the data behind it. Teams that prefer to do the work in-house can use our Formist software.

What the rules ask for

SCA sustainability reporting, ADX ESG disclosure guidance and DFM requirements

The regulator's requirement. The Chairman of the SCA Board's Decision No. (3/R.M) of 2020 adopted the Corporate Governance Guide for public joint stock companies. As the DFM's ESG reporting guide summarises it, in line with Article (76) of that decision, companies must publish a sustainability report as part of their integrated annual report, before the date of the annual general meeting is set; the guide also notes that SCA mandated ESG data reporting for DFM and ADX listed companies in 2022. On 1 January 2026 Federal Decree-Laws No. (32) and (33) of 2025 came into effect and renamed the SCA the Capital Market Authority (CMA), so check the CMA for the rules currently in force.

ADX ESG disclosure guidance. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange published its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disclosure Guidance for Listed Companies in June 2025. It is voluntary, complements the SCA Corporate Governance Code, and sets out environmental, social and governance disclosure metrics aligned with the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS S1 and S2), the GRI Standards and the recommendations of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative and the World Federation of Exchanges. The 2019 edition of the guidance listed 31 KPIs; reports still built on that list should be checked against the 2025 metric set.

DFM sustainability report guidance. The Dubai Financial Market's Guide to ESG Reporting (2025 edition) is also voluntary. It encourages listed companies to evaluate and disclose their performance against 32 ESG metrics aligned with the SSE initiative and the World Federation of Exchanges, and references GRI, ISSB, SASB and TCFD. Both exchange guides describe a reporting process that runs from materiality assessment to an optional third-party assurance step.

The climate law. Federal Decree-Law No. (11) of 2024 has required entities in the UAE to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) since 30 May 2025. For a listed company, the Scope 1 and 2 figures in the sustainability report and the figures filed with MOCCAE should come from the same inventory.

What a listed company needs to do

Building a sustainability report that holds up

The report itself is the last step. The bulk of the effort sits in the data and in agreeing what matters. A practical sequence for a UAE-listed company or an IPO candidate:

  1. Map your requirements

    List what applies to you: the regulator's governance rules, the guide of the exchange you are listed on, the climate law, and the questionnaires your investors and ESG rating agencies send.

  2. Run a materiality assessment

    Engage stakeholders and decide which environmental, social and governance topics are material to your business. Both the ADX and the DFM guides build the reporting process around it.

  3. Collect ESG data

    Energy, emissions, water and waste; workforce, health and safety and diversity; board composition, ethics and data privacy. Give each metric an owner, a definition and a source document.

  4. Write the report

    Structure it against GRI, map it to IFRS S1 and S2 and the TCFD recommendations, and use the metric set of your exchange's guide as a checklist.

  5. Review, approve and publish

    Take it through the board, integrate it with the annual report and publish it on time for the annual general meeting cycle.

  6. Consider assurance

    Third-party assurance is optional under both exchange guides, but it strengthens the credibility of the data for investors and rating agencies.

How WeCarbon helps

ESG reporting and capital-market disclosure from our Dubai office

ESG reporting, capital-market disclosure and ESG rating enhancement are core services of WeCarbon's sustainability advisory team, which works from DIFC Innovation One in Dubai as well as Shanghai and Paris. WeCarbon is a UN PRI service-provider signatory. For UAE listed companies, we cover:

  • Gap analysis against the regulator's requirements and the ADX or DFM metric set, with a prioritised list of what to fix.
  • Materiality assessment and stakeholder engagement.
  • ESG data collection: templates, owners and an evidence file for each metric, including the greenhouse gas inventory you also need for MOCCAE.
  • Sustainability report writing aligned with GRI, ISSB (IFRS S1 and S2) and TCFD.
  • IPO and capital-market disclosure: ESG content for prospectuses and responses to regulator questions.
  • ESG rating enhancement across MSCI, CDP and EcoVadis.
  • Assurance readiness: we organise the data trail for the assurance provider you appoint.

Prefer to run ESG reporting in-house? Formist, our AI agents for sustainability compliance and ESG reporting, lets your team collect the data and draft the report itself.

FAQ

ESG reporting in the UAE: frequently asked questions

Is ESG reporting mandatory for UAE listed companies?

For listed public joint stock companies, yes. Under the corporate governance rules the SCA adopted in 2020, they publish a sustainability report as part of their integrated annual report, and SCA mandated ESG data reporting for ADX and DFM listed companies in 2022, as the DFM's ESG reporting guide summarises. The ADX and DFM guides themselves are voluntary references on how to report.

What happened to the SCA?

Federal Decree-Laws No. (32) and (33) of 2025, in effect since 1 January 2026, renamed the Securities and Commodities Authority as the Capital Market Authority (CMA). The exchange guides refer to rules issued under the SCA name, such as the 2020 Corporate Governance Guide; check the CMA for the version currently in force.

How many KPIs are in the ADX ESG disclosure guidance?

The 2019 edition listed 31 KPIs. The current edition, published in June 2025, organises its disclosure metrics into environmental, social and governance categories mapped to GRI and IFRS S1 and S2. Use the current edition when planning a report.

What does the DFM ask for in a sustainability report?

The DFM's Guide to ESG Reporting (2025) encourages listed companies to report against 32 ESG metrics aligned with the SSE initiative and the World Federation of Exchanges, and to align with frameworks such as GRI, ISSB, SASB and TCFD. The guide is voluntary; the obligation to publish a sustainability report comes from the regulator's governance rules.

Which framework should a UAE sustainability report follow?

Both exchange guides point to GRI and the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS S1 and S2), with TCFD for climate-related disclosure. We can structure the report on GRI and map it to IFRS S1 and S2 and to your exchange's metric set.

Can you help with the software side?

Yes, through Formist, our AI agents for sustainability compliance and ESG reporting at formist.ai. If you would rather have the report prepared for you, our advisory team does that work.

Official sources

This page summarises public information as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. Check the current rules of the Capital Market Authority and your exchange before acting.

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