Digital library on sustainable finance
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The Schweizer Pensionskassenstudie 2026 published by Swisscanto shows positive results. In 2025 both public and private schemes reached historically high funding ratios, combined with exceptionally high average returns of 4.7%, the highest interest rate credited since 2000. ESG criteria embedded in the investment regulations of Swiss pension funds remain stable at around one third, up from 8% in 2015. Progress on sustainability initiatives has stalled, with 35% of funds measuring portfolio emissions and 14% setting CO₂ reduction targets. However, there is little evidence of reversal: only 1% of funds have relaxed their ESG requirements, while 2% have made them more stringent.
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The latest AGM report by the Ethos Foundation, covering 172 Swiss listed companies, shows mixed progress. Women now hold 30.4% of SPI board seats (up from 28.8% in 2025), but 78 companies remain below the 30% threshold and 22 boards still have no female members. At SMI companies, average CEO pay has risen 28.8% over five years to CHF 8.8 million, with eight CEOs earning more than CHF 10 million. At the same time renumeration reports on average only get approved by 87.5% of the AGM making it the most contentious agenda item. Sustainability reporting also remains a challenge: Ethos recommended approval for only 36.7% of reports, and 53 companies still lack external verification of non-financial data. One positive trend is the rise in binding votes on sustainability reports, from 54.1% in 2024 to 65.9% in 2026.
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Eurostat published their yearly update on the progress towards the SDGs on 3 June 2026. It carefully analyses all the 17 SDGs and rates the progress made. The EU continues to make steady progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, with significant improvements in 5 of the 17 SDGs over the past five years, including decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), and quality education (SDG 4). At the same time, 9 additional goals show moderate progress, with especially strong gains in industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9) and zero hunger (SDG 2). However, the picture is uneven: 3 SDGs show no progress or even deterioration, including life below water (SDG 14) and life on land (SDG 15), reflecting ongoing environmental pressures.
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Monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context 2026 - EN
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The ECB published an updated report on good practices for climate and nature-related stress testing, aimed at helping banks strengthen their climate risk management and modelling approaches ahead of upcoming EBA guidelines. The report highlights that by the end of 2024 all significant institutions had integrated climate risk into their stress-testing frameworks, while banks are increasingly adopting more sophisticated counterparty-level and physical risk modelling approaches despite persistent data limitations
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ECB report on good practices for climate and nature-related risk stress testing - EN
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The guide is published by MSCI and outlines how biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are becoming financially material risks for investors through both physical and transition channels. It highlights that global populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish have declined by an average of 73% between 1970 and 2020, and offers guidance on how investors can address such risks when managing portfolios.
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An Investor’s Guide to Nature and Biodiversity Risks and Impacts - EN
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The 2025 Private Asset Impact Fund (PAIF) Report, published by Tameo, is its flagship annual study on impact investment funds in emerging and frontier markets, based on a dataset covering 808 active funds and 488 investment managers. It finds that the PAIF market has reached USD 105.2 billion in size, while equity strategies account for 54% of total AUM, making them the dominant allocation within private asset impact investing.
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The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) published a study on the Swiss Bankers Association (SBVg) ESG guidelines, assessing their current implementation status and how banks in Switzerland perceive them. The report finds that while ESG principles are broadly recognized, implementation remains uneven across banks, with ongoing challenges in consistent application, measurement, and integration into risk and governance frameworks.
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Wie Banken in der Schweiz die ESG-Richtlinien in der Vermögensverwaltung umsetzen - DE
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The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) analyses how credit risk approaches are evolving in response to physical climate risks, including insurance adequacy and investments in adaptation and resilience. This work has led to the RACR framework, which provides guidance for risk managers on how to properly account for these structural risks. Between 2015 and 2024, climate-related damage increased by 134% compared with 2000, while many risk frameworks still rely heavily on historical data. As a result, physical climate risks are accumulating much faster than they are being priced in, potentially directing capital flows into assets that may become stranded
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he Asia Investor Group on Climate Change finds that investor climate action in Asia has evolved over the past seven years across three phases, based on a review of 240 asset owners and managers and a survey of 59 respondents. The focus is shifting from early-stage disclosure and frameworks such as NZIF, SBTi, and ISSB, through a phase of heightened scrutiny over “greenwashing,” to today’s implementation phase. The group also finds that 45% of respondents report that barriers to climate investing have improved over the past 12 months, despite continued global geopolitical uncertainty. Investors are now moving beyond commitments toward credible transition plans, portfolio-level action, and active stewardship, rather than exclusion or divestment strategies.
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The new IEA Global Energy Review 2026 provides a detailed overview of the energy market’s development and highlights some positive insights. The demand in solar PV has increased by 25% and marks the largest single source of growth. In total, demand for electricity grew at a rate which is more than double the rate of energy demand, while oil demand slowed down. In addition, IEA measured the highest capacity of renewable energy ever. Taken together, these are indicators of a progressing energy transition.
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The OECD Economic Outlook, Interim Report March 2026 highlights how the conflict in the Middle East is increasing tension on the resilience of the global economy. The closure of the Strait of Homouz caused a congestion in shipments of goods and the damage of energy infrastructure has led to a shortage of energy supply leading to a surge of energy prices resulting catalysing inflationary market forces. In the face of these challenges, the market has produced strong momentum in technology related investment and production and below-expectation tariffs.
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A new report by Mercer highlights how private markets are gaining traction as a key channel for nature-based investments, offering opportunities to address biodiversity loss while generating returns. Based on a study of 89 strategies, the findings show strong focus on land (71%), ecosystem regeneration (57%), and revenue models linked to carbon and biodiversity credits (63%), indicating where market activity is currently concentrated.
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Global Nature Fund, in cooperation with VFU, published a practical approach to identify and use KPIs in three selected sectors. Biodiversity services affect an estimated 72% of Companies financed by banks in the EU area. On top of these dependencies, net-zero goals by 20250 further increase market demand and regulatory pressures. In order to formulate credible and measurable goals three key KPIs are suggested. First, “State of Nature”, second “Pressure”, and third, “Response”.
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WWF is addressing the issue of the increasing insurance protection gap. It points out that risks caused by degrading nature caused by GHG emissions are becoming less predictable and more destructive. The unpredictability of the likelihood and the financial damage make risks unattractive for insurers and unaffordable for the insured. Including indirect and ecosystem costs, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimates the costs of natural disasters at USD 2.3 trillion averaging 2% of the global GDP. For developing countries, the situation is even more severe as their exposure to nature risks is typically higher. Governments are commencing to implement solutions such as publicly supported insurances. However, they only fight the symptoms instead of the root of the problem. The WWF suggests a strategy that advocates for a holistic approach that is built around nature based solutions.
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The UNEP’s State of Finance for Nature 2026 introduces the Nature Transition X-Curve. It is a conceptual framework based on transition pathways setting the direction towards a nature positive economy. At the moment, USD 7.3 trillion of nature negative capital must be reallocated in activities with nature positive outcomes. To put it in perspective, for every USD flowing into nature positive economic activities more than USD 30 flow into nature negative activities. The paper stresses that without a balanced ecosystem every economic activity will be harmed. It considers the private sector, the public sector, and policy makers and suggests according recommendations.
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IIGCC’s new guidance is designed as a complement to the Net Zero Investment Framework (NZIF). It can be seen as a toolkit for investors to develop their individual net-zero strategy. It supports investors to identify and act on material risks. Regarding deforestation the recognition can vary depending on the geography of the investment. The starting point contains of 5 actions: assessing exposure, developing a deforestation policy, integrating considerations of deforestation and associated risks into investment decision-making, addressing material exposure to deforestation and associated risks through portfolio stewardship, and conducting systems-level stewardship by advocating for regulation and policies that aim to curb deforestation globally and scale deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains.
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Guidance on Integrating Deforestation into Net Zero Strategies - EN
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Published by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and planval, this new best-practice booklet offers a clear and practical overview of nature-based solutions in Switzerland. It presents 23 well-researched and evaluated examples across key ecosystems, highlighting their benefits for biodiversity and climate action. The publication serves as a valuable source of inspiration and guidance for municipalities, regions, and companies seeking to implement effective, integrated solutions.
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Naturbasierte Lösungen: Chancen für Gemeinden, Regionen und Unternehmen - DE
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Five years after launching the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Pledge the FfB Foundation published its first impact report. 126 actors in the financial sector filled in a self-assessment at the beginning of the year 2025. In total there are more than 200 signatories across 29 countries of which many signed the pledge after 2020. 98% of respondents report that biodiversity is integrated into their ESG or sustainability policy and 90% are engaged in intra-industry working groups discussing challenges and opportunities related to biodiversity. The paper shows that the awareness of nature risks creates a shift in behaviour leading to measurement of impacts and dependencies, or financing nature-positive transition.
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BNP Paribas’ Investment Outlook 2026 highlights the resilience of the global economy with growth forecasts being revised upward. The IMF is expecting 3.2% global growth despite political tensions. Europe is on the forefoot thanks to more clarity regarding policies and fiscal spending on infrastructure and defence. The US is the most unpredictable region due to the shifts in tariffs and looser fiscal stance. Furthermore, the role of the federal reserve remains unclear as it is focusing on labour market risks. Asias main economic driver, China, is not expected to alter its proven strategy and further supports the local industry. National banks are expected to further lower interest rates and sovereign debt yields are facing upward pressure creating an investor friendly environment. Finally, artificial intelligence acts as catalyst in equity markets resulting in increasing capital expenditure and productivity.
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The paper, published by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), finds that financial markets are increasingly recognizing sustainability as a driver of value and risk mitigation, though pricing remains uneven. Evidence is strongest in debt markets, where credible sustainability performance can lower borrowing costs, with green bonds showing an average 2–4 basis point premium. At the company level, integrated sustainability strategies can improve performance, with studies indicating EBITDA uplifts of 5–20% and typical returns on sustainability investments of 2–14x. Crucially, markets reward credibility and alignment between sustainability, strategy, and capital allocation, while inaction is increasingly viewed as a high-risk choice for long-term resilience and valuation.
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The Swiss Sustainable Lending Market Study 2025 provides a comprehensive overview of the progress made by Swiss banks in integrating sustainability into their lending and mortgage practices, as well as the challenges involved. A positive trend is emerging: banks have increasingly introduced sustainability strategies and guidelines in lending. The hiring of internal sustainability specialists and the establishment of sustainability departments are providing effective support to the credit and mortgage sector.
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SSF_Pub_Lending_Market_Study_2025_EN (pdf 9.1 MB)Summary
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) published the IFZ Sustainable Investments Studie 2025. Among other interesting findings, the study observes that, although fund inflows into sustainable funds have overall declined considerably. Only 110 from 237 sustainable funds registers net inflows. Although, the net inflows (+ CHF 49 Billion) outperform the net outflows (CHF -45 Billion) the share of sustainable funds with positive net inflows has declined from roughly 75% to below 50% in the past two years. However, at the same time 69% of newly invested money flows of Swiss Retail Banks flow into sustainable funds.
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The guide prepared by CSP in collaboration with The ImPact and University of St. Gallen finds that the 13 wealth managers reflected in this medium on average allocate 30% of client assets to sustainable strategies, though impact investing remains far smaller at just 3.3%. However, these results are not representative and a huge variance has been detected across the wealth managers. Furthermore, the report highlights that impact measurement and ongoing values alignment vary widely across firms, underscoring the importance of robust governance, transparent reporting, and organizational commitment to impact.
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The paper published by the UN Environment Program Finance Initiative and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) appeals to the responsibility of the asset owners. It argues that asset owners must account for climate risk and invest in mitigating action in order to ensure long-term economic growth and build resilience. Therefore, it is crucial that asset managers identify these long-term risks and act in the best interest of their clients by allocating the assets accordingly.
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Die Biodiversitätskrise erfordert entschlossenes Handeln. Entscheidend hierfür ist die Frage, welche Mittel sich in welcher Form am besten eignen. Daher ist es bedeutsam, konkrete Maßnahmen wie Nature-based Solutions und die derzeit intensiv diskutierten Biodiversity Credits möglichst sorgfältig zu analysieren. Die Handreichungen sollen hierzu einen Beitrag leisten und gleichermaßen die Chancen und Potenziale sowie die Risiken und Grenzen in den Blick nehmen. Darüber hinaus ist es essenziell, mögliche globale Auswirkungen auf die nachhaltige Entwicklung, soziale Ungleichheiten und bestehende Machtverhältnisse mitzudenken.
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