Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles are increasingly shaping the future of economic competitiveness, institutional credibility, and sustainable development across the world. In Pakistan, the national conversation on ESG is evolving beyond awareness toward implementation, accountability, and policy coherence. At the center of this transition stands the Pakistan ESG Policy Symposium (PESGPS), an initiative of the Global Peace Summit, designed to strengthen dialogue between regulators, policymakers, industry leaders, and sustainability practitioners on the future of ESG implementation in Pakistan.
The foundations of this agenda were first established through the ESG Summit, an initiative of the Global Peace Summit that laid the groundwork for what responsible institutional leadership on environmental, social, and governance matters could look like in Pakistan. Bringing together institutions such as the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), ACCA Pakistan, and the Office of the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Summit created an important platform for national dialogue, collaboration, and policy engagement around ESG compliance, governance, and institutional responsibility.
Building upon this momentum, the Pakistan ESG Policy Symposium 2026 represented a more focused and policy-oriented step in Pakistan’s ESG journey. Organized in Islamabad by the Global Peace Summit, PESGPS convened senior policymakers, regulators, corporate leaders, government institutions, development partners, and sustainability experts for a comprehensive national dialogue on ESG framework implementation, institutional accountability, and regulatory coherence.
The Symposium was inaugurated by Mr. Shaikh Mahmud bin Ilyas, Founder and Chairman of the Global Peace Summit, who emphasized that the global transition toward ESG reflects a broader redefinition of progress itself, one in which institutions are increasingly evaluated through the lenses of credibility, transparency, accountability, and long-term responsibility. In his remarks, he underscored that ESG in Pakistan must move beyond fragmented discourse or imported terminology and instead evolve into a coherent national framework capable of aligning economic growth with environmental resilience, governance integrity, and social responsibility.
The Symposium brought together key public institutions and regulators, including the Ministry of Climate Change, Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and ACCA Pakistan, alongside major stakeholders from Pakistan’s corporate and industrial sectors. Organizations represented included Fauji Foundation, Mari Energies Limited, Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Jazz, EFU Life Assurance, Pak-Qatar Group, GSK Pakistan, Unilever Pakistan, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), SGS Pakistan, Crowe Pakistan, World Agriculture Forum, Arabian Sea Center for Development, TM Resources, Tresmark, and several other sustainability, governance, and development institutions. The Symposium also welcomed participation from representatives of Engro Corporation, Sui Southern Gas Company, National Foods, Total PARCO, and additional institutional stakeholders contributing to Pakistan’s evolving ESG ecosystem.
The event was attended by Senator Sherry Rehman, Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, who joined as Chief Guest, alongside distinguished Guests of Honor including Mr. Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme; Ms. Musarat Jabeen, Executive Director of the SECP; Lt. General Omar Mahmood Hayat (Retd.), Chairman of the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum; and Brigadier Aslam Khan (Retd.), President of the Rural Development Foundation.
In her keynote address, Senator Sherry Rehman offered an important reflection on the growing disconnect between ESG disclosure and meaningful accountability, noting that “the biggest polluters are often filing the biggest ESG reports.” Her remarks highlighted a central concern raised throughout the Symposium: that reporting mechanisms, while important, cannot substitute for credible enforcement, measurable performance, and effective institutional oversight.
Senator Sherry Rehman stressed the importance of developing a rules-based and enforceable ESG framework in Pakistan, one that ensures sustainability commitments are transparent, measurable, and subject to regulatory review.
A major focus of PESGPS was advancing ESG implementation from voluntary positioning toward a structured, policy-aligned, and institution-led framework grounded in measurable standards. Discussions emphasized the increasing relevance of climate risk, industrial transition, responsible investment, governance reforms, ESG disclosures, and regulatory alignment, particularly as international trade and financial systems become progressively shaped by sustainability requirements and compliance expectations.
Panel deliberations were moderated and led by distinguished experts, including Ms. Rabia Omar, Partner at Spencer West; Mr. Asad Malik, Head of Public Relations at ACCA Pakistan; Mr. Shehzad Dhedi, CEO of ESG Hexa and Pakistan Partner at Coral; and Barrister Sarah Kazmi, Partner at Energy Resource Management. Their discussions brought together perspectives across governance, climate finance, industrial transformation, sustainability disclosure systems, and regulatory implementation pathways.
Representatives from leading corporate, financial, and sustainability sectors contributed practical insights drawn from institutional experience, emphasizing the need to establish ESG adoption pathways that are commercially realistic, globally aligned, and responsive to Pakistan’s economic realities. Participants highlighted that Pakistan’s future competitiveness, sovereign resilience, and access to international markets and supply chains will increasingly depend upon responsible corporate conduct, governance maturity, climate preparedness, and internationally credible reporting systems.
In a particularly important intervention, Lt. General Omar Mahmood Hayat (Retd.) emphasized that Pakistan’s sovereign risk, export competitiveness, and global economic positioning are now inseparable from ESG performance. Drawing upon decades of institutional leadership experience, he stressed that governance cannot be built upon aspiration alone, observing that “good intentions do not build strong institutions, clear structures, accountability, and governance do.” He further emphasized that ESG must be understood as a governance framework rather than a philanthropic or corporate social responsibility exercise, requiring board ownership, executive accountability, and institutionalized sustainability mechanisms.
One of the defining outcomes of the Symposium was the release of the Pakistan ESG Policy Report 2026–27, envisioned as a policy-facing framework to guide engagement with ministries, regulators, financial institutions, development partners, and national decision-making bodies. The Report consolidates recommendations emerging from the Symposium and seeks to support greater coherence, reliability, and practical effectiveness in ESG review and implementation mechanisms across Pakistan.
Senator Sherry Rehman welcomed the publication of the Report as an important milestone in Pakistan’s sustainability journey, recognizing it as evidence that a more defined and mature regulatory conversation around ESG is beginning to emerge.
The Pakistan ESG Policy Symposium 2026 concluded with a collective call for the establishment of a National Committee on ESG Frameworks, reflecting broad consensus among participants that Pakistan’s transition toward sustainable, competitive, and globally aligned economic systems will require coordinated engagement between government institutions, regulators, financial authorities, industry leaders, development partners, and civil society actors.
As an initiative of the Global Peace Summit, the Pakistan ESG Policy Symposium has sought not only to convene dialogue but to institutionalize momentum around ESG implementation in Pakistan. What began through the ESG Summit as an effort to build awareness and initiate engagement has now matured into a platform focused on policy coherence, accountability, and measurable institutional action.
The ESG Summit now carries this agenda to Türkiye, where conversations on policy-aligned ESG implementation will enter a broader multilateral stage, reinforcing Pakistan’s contribution to an increasingly global dialogue on sustainability, governance, and responsible development.
