Digital library on sustainable finance
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The Swiss National Action Plan clarifies the position and expectations of the Federal Council with regard to business enterprises and aims to improve the protection of human rights in the context of economic activities. It aims to communicate the Federal Council’s expectations of businesses, raise businesses’ awareness of human rights due diligence, strengthen collaboration between businesses and the State, and improve coherence of State activities.
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UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights - Swiss National Action Plan - DE
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights - Swiss National Action Plan - FR
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights - Swiss National Action Plan - IT
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights - Swiss National Action Plan - EN
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This study by HSLU analyses the Swiss market for sustainable financing products. This year, the focus was also placed on the calculation of financed emissions in the loan portfolio and on SME sustainability assessment tools. The results are based on publicly available data and a survey of tool providers.
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The FINMA Guidance 08/2024 document focuses on governance and risk management when using artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial market. It highlights the need for supervised institutions to identify, limit, and control the risks associated with AI, including operational, IT, cyber, legal, and reputational risks. The guidance emphasizes the importance of effective governance, data quality, ongoing monitoring, and independent review to manage these risks. Additionally, it underscores the absence of AI-specific legislation in Switzerland and the reliance on technology-neutral, principle-based regulatory requirements
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FINMA Guidance 08/2024: Governance and risk management when using artifical intelligence - EN
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The Executive Committee of the Green Bond Principles with the support of ICMA has published an updated edition of the Guidance Handbook that contains additional responses, notably on the June 2022 Appendix 1 of the GBP and SBP regarding securitisation. In addition, a new chapter on Sustainability-Linked Bonds and Q&As related to pandemics and social projects to support fragile and conflict states haven been added.
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ASIP publishes the first study on the adoption of its ESG reporting standards. The study, performed by PwC on behalf of ASIP, documents the engagement of pension funds in the field of sustainability, and measures the acceptance and implementation status of the "ESG Reporting Standards" among Swiss pension funds.
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ASIP ESG Reporting Standard: First study on the 2023 reporting year - DE
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This study by HSLU highlights the growing importance of biodiversity for investors. It analyses the market for sustainable Swiss funds, assesses the risks and opportunities of biodiversity loss on the basis of double materiality and examines the strategies of fund providers in the highly competitive Swiss market environment.
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This study by Clarity AI highlights the importance of institutional investors in driving sustainable progress through AI, by investing in AI-driven innovation. It explores the transformative benefits of AI, but also considers the ESG risks associated with it, from electricity and water consumption to data privacy and labour impacts.
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In 2022, the European Impact Investing Consortium partnered with academic institutions to harmonize and assess Europe’s impact investing market. The goal was to shed light on the market's dynamics, trends, and practices. This newly published report is designed to provide investors, policymakers, and market leaders with valuable insights to make informed decisions, align strategies with global challenges, and unlock opportunities for collaboration.
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This rating conducted by WWF assesses the sustainability of the largest 15 Swiss retail banks and the Alternative Bank Switzerland. The report assesses the following three main areas: Corporate management, saving, investing and retirement planning, and loans and financing. Most banks achieved moderate results, showing some progress compared to past ratings, but in general still fall short of achieving Switzerland’s climate and biodiversity goals. Hence, significant efforts are still needed across the sector to align business models with sustainability targets and drive a successful green transition.
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The International Organization for Standardizations' (ISO) ESG Implementation Principles (IWA 48) is a high-level structure and set of principles designed to guide organizations in implementing and embedding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices within their organizational culture. This document supports the management of ESG performance and facilitates measurement and reporting under existing frameworks, enabling consistency, comparability, and reliability of ESG reporting and practices globally.
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Framework for implementing environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles - EN
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This report assesses the quality of sustainability reports from major Swiss companies, impacting transparency and investor decision-making on ESG issues. Ethos sees mandatory and improved reporting as an important basis for non-financial performance assessment that will reduce greenwashing and help Switzerland align with European standards.
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2024 Study – General Meetings and Sustainability Reports - EN
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This publication by Symbiotics delves into the factors behind the reluctance of investors to increase their investments in emerging markets. Impact investing in emerging markets is often excluded from investment strategies and the authors attribute this to a psychological bias towards risk aversion amplified by negative media coverage and asset allocations with a domestic bias. However, emerging markets are projected to contribute 70% of future global growth, making their inclusion vital for capitalizing on this potential. Many risks, such as sovereign risk, are often overstated. The report illustrates that default rates in emerging markets are comparable to those in developed markets and that the lower correlation of emerging market currencies to the dollar offers better diversification.
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This quarterly report examines open-end funds and ETFs focused on impact, sustainability, or ESG risk factors. In Q3 2024, sustainable funds saw net inflows of USD 10.4 billion, mainly from Europe, while the US saw reduced outflows. Global sustainable fund assets grew by 6%, reaching USD 3.3 trillion, aided by stock gains. New fund launches declined, with more closures and rebrandings, especially in Europe, as funds prepare for incoming anti-greenwashing regulations.
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The mission of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is to ‘halt and reverse biodiversity loss’ by 2030, with a 2050 vision of ‘a world living in harmony with nature’. The GBF has been endorsed by almost 200 national governments. Delivering the transition implied by the GBF will require significant changes to business practices across all sectors. Transition planning offers a way to manage an organisation’s responses and contributions to this transition in a coherent, structured way. This process is already well established for the net zero transition. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has developed draft guidance to help organisations develop and disclose nature transition plans.
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As nature-related risks increasingly impact financial markets and business decision-making, access to high-quality, timely and decision-useful data has become essential. The goal of the paper is to help empower corporates and financial institutions to understand their nature-related dependencies and impacts.
This discussion paper outlines a roadmap to accessing high-quality, decision-useful nature data.
Key focus areas
- The fast emergence of corporate reporting architecture and the introduction of mandatory climate- and nature-related reporting standards in Europe, China and elsewhere.
- Three new demand signals from the private sector for nature-related data.
- A proposed roadmap for further action.
- 10 proposed data principles.
- Understanding the requirements of a Nature Data Public Facility.
Key outcomes
- The resilience of every business depends on the resilience of nature.
- There is an urgent need to improve access to timely, comprehensive and decision-useful, nature-related data for corporate decision makers and capital providers.
- The TNFD has assembled a global coalition of leading organisations and experts to outline how to address the challenges of upgrading the nature data value chain.
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A roadmap for upgrading market access to decision-useful nature-related data - EN
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This guide aims to share the results of research done into public understanding of various terms around sustainable investing. The guide aims to respond to the frequently encountered challenge of low end-investor awareness of the options available and the meaning of industry terms like ESG, Responsible Investing, and Impact Investing.
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This report, sourcing data from 305 organizations across 39 countries, highlights 14% CAGR in impact investing assets, a shift toward equity-like debt and public assets, and high investor satisfaction despite unmet targets. Key trends include increased data-sharing, diversified impact measurement frameworks, and a push for third-party verification, signaling a more accountable and mature impact investing market.
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State of the Market 2024 - Trends, Performance and Allocations - EN
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Deforestation impacts local and global climate, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, underscoring the critical link between deforestation and both climate- and nature-related risks and opportunities. To support effective deforestation disclosure, this guide outlines four essential steps: adopting deforestation-free finance guidance, carrying out deforestation-specific disclosure, integrating these risks into climate- and nature-related financial disclosures and transition plans, and striving for comprehensive, holistic disclosure. It provides practical advice on disclosing material risks and risk management actions related to financed deforestation and land-use change, using tools like the Deforestation-Free Finance Roadmap and platforms such as CDP. Additionally, the guide details how to include deforestation risks in IFRS S2 and TNFD disclosures, meet mandatory reporting requirements, and highlights the role of nature protection in net-zero transition plans.
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Deforestation Disclosure Guide for Financial Institutions - EN
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Der neue Benchmark Report bietet den Verbandsmitgliedern von SwissFoundations zum neunten Mal die exklusive Gelegenheit, Renditen und Kosten in der Vermögensbewirtschaftung innerhalb des Mitgliederkreises zu vergleichen. Gemeinsam wird somit nicht nur die verbandsinterne Transparenz gefördert, sondern auch zur Professionalisierung in der Vermögensverwaltung beigetragen.
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The SVVK-ASIR Engagement Report provides information on the association's engagement activities. In the last two years, it has intensified its dialogue with companies, particularly in the Swiss domestic market. In 2022 and 2023, the association conducted 176 and 170 engagement dialogues respectively, more than half of them on human and labour rights. 19 cases were successfully concluded, but climate change remained a key issue and the focus was also increasingly on Switzerland. In summer 2023, SVVK surveyed around 20 property fund providers on their net zero plans, revealing major differences in sustainability reports and measures.
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Engagement Report 2022/23 - DE
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Financial institutions are reshaping their business models to address the challenge of sustainability. In this roundup, scholars and practitioners explore the progress made and the obstacles that remain. Banks and investors are increasingly incorporating climate risks into their decision-making processes. Yet today, these risks are not always correctly priced in financial markets. Greater coordination between public and private initiatives could help ensure sufficient capital flows toward sustainable investments to meet global targets. The insights shared by the experts shed light on the part that sustainable finance can play in enabling the shift to a sustainable economy
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Climate-Related Risks— A Focus on Banks and Credit Risk - DE
Climate-Related Risks— A Focus on Banks and Credit Risk - FR
Climate-Related Risks— A Focus on Banks and Credit Risk - IT
Climate-Related Risks— A Focus on Banks and Credit Risk - EN
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This guide sheds light on how the financial sector contributes to deforestation and conversion of other ecosystems than forests, calling on central banks, financial regulators and supervisors to put in place adequate monetary, regulatory and supervisory measures. In its first section, the report sets out the importance of forests and other threatened terrestrial ecosystems to life on Earth in general, and humanity in particular. The second section explains why deforestation and conversion are critical for central banks, financial regulators and supervisors and the third section describes the actions taken by some of these players.
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At the request of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, this report takes stock of regulatory and supervisory initiatives associated with the identification and assessment of nature-related financial risks. The stocktake also enquires about the perceptions of central banks and supervisors regarding whether nature degradation, such as biodiversity loss, is a relevant financial risk. It draws on a survey of participating Financial Stability Board members and the work done by international organisations, including the conceptual framework developed by the Network for Greening the Financial System and work done by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and funded by the European Union, on nature-related risks.
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Energy-efficient refurbishments require considerable financial resources. They result in market appreciation due to the refurbishment, improved convertibility of the property and additional rental income. Wüest Partner has comprehensively modelled how often and under what conditions this is economically worthwhile for property owners for the Swiss residential building stock.
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Wirtschaftlichkeit der energetischen Sanierung des Wohngebäudeparks - DE
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This publication adapts established valuation techniques in an innovative way to assess how the value of global equities can be affected by physical climate damage and by transition costs for different degrees of aggressiveness of the abatement policy. The topic is not only relevant for investors, but also to regulators, who want to understand how the climate-sensitive assets held by systemically important financial institutions may deteriorate in value and, by so doing, endanger the liquidity and solvency of the institutions, and threaten financial stability.
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How does Climate Risk Affect Global Equity Valuations? - A Novel Approach - EN
