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SSF Newsletter July 2022
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Guiding Clients
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Dear all
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The 2022 Swiss Sustainable Investment Market Study demonstrates a Swiss market with high sustainable investment volumes of close to CHF 2 trillion, corresponding to a 30 percent increase from 2020. Such high growth rates can largely be explained by the increasing mainstreaming of different sustainable investment approaches, alongside the positive market performance in 2021. In light of the growing volumes, it is important to keep in mind that there exists no black and white definition of what is a sustainable investment and what is not. Seeing the growing concerns around greenwashing, giving clearer guidance on different levels of sustainability is an important next step. Equally, providing clarity to retail investors about objectives and mechanisms of sustainable investments is also key. SSF’s newest publication, the “Practitioners' Guide”, prepared in cooperation with EY, provides guidance on how to best inform clients about the sustainability characteristics of financial products. We thereby support the work by other actors within the Swiss market such as SBA with their new self-regulation for integrating sustainability criteria into investment and mortgage advice.
Over the course of the past weeks, different SSF events offered opportunities for the sustainable finance community to meet and learn about next hot topics to be tackled. A highlight was the SSF Annual Conference with the keynote from Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider and an in-depth discussion on the role of finance for biodiversity. We hope to continue to see many of you at other events we are already planning for the second half of 2022.
Wishing you a good summer break!
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Kind regards,
Veronica Baker
SSF Project Manager
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SSF activities at a glance
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New Publication “Practitioners’ Guide”
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SSF appoints four women to the board
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At the Members’ Assembly held on 29 June 2022 in Bern, four new members were elected to the organisation’s strategic body: Sandra Cafazzo, Anne Marion-Bouchacourt, Mirjam Staub-Bisang and Maria Teresa Zappia. We congratulate them and are happy about the new support we gain. Read the Press release here.
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SSF Annual Conference 2022
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The SSF Annual Conference was held in person at the Kursaal in Bern. Around 250 members, networks partners and other finance experts attended the event, to hear great speakers including Nestlé CEO, Mark Schneider and FINMA president Marlene Amstad. View an event summary, pictures and slides here.
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Sustainable Investment Market Study 2022
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At an event, SSF presented the 2022 edition of the Swiss Sustainable Investment Market Study, which provides in-depth insights into recent market developments for sustainable investment (SI) in Switzerland. With an increase of 30% on the previous year to a total of CHF 1,982.7 billion, sustainable investments continue their dynamic growth. View the interactive microsite here.
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SSF’s statement on the Federal Council’s consultation on the new ordinance on climate reporting
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The ordinance specifies existing legal provisions on reporting on non-financial matters in the Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 964a - 964c et seq. CO), which came into force on 1 January, 2022. SSF welcomes the proposal, but in its statement calls for adjustments to the draft ordinance. Read SSF’s statement here including the annex (only available in German).
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Regulatory and market news
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Swiss News
- The Federal Council unveiled the Swiss Climate Scores, a set of indicators providing transparency on the Paris alignment of financial investment. SSF contributed to the development of this important tool giving private investors meaningful, comparative information on the extent to which financial investments are aligned with the Paris goals. Read joint media release of SBA, AMAS and SSF on the Climate Scores.
- The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) introduced two self regulation guidelines for minimum requirements for integrating sustainability criteria into investment and mortgage advice. The new guidelines are binding for SBA members and come into force 1 January 2023. Read the media release and the corresponding documents on SBA's website.
EU News
- On 6 July 2022, the European Parliament voted in favour of labelling investments in gas and nuclear power plants as sustainable investments – against the original intention of the taxonomy and the recommendation of experts, including the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance. This will enable investors and states to subsume investments in these technologies as green, starting 2023.
International News
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New members and network partners
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We are happy to welcome the following organisation as new SSF member:
The full list of our members and network partners, now standing at 213, can be found here.
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- 1 September 2022, Aarau, Stiftungssymposium
- 22 September, Vaduz, Liechtenstein Workshop of Sustainable Finance 2022
- 23 September 2022, Lugano, ZHAW/SSF Conference: Innovation in Sustainable Finance and Commodities.
- Save the Date 3-6 October 2022, Geneva, Save the Date: Building Bridges Week 2023
- SSF Events:
- 4 October, 16:00-18:30 - Innovative Blended Finance Solutions for Impact
- 5 October, 14:00-15:30 - Sustainable Investing 4.0: Big Data and AI for Maximal Impacts
- 5 October, 16:00- 17:30 - TNFD as a Solution to Address Biodiversity Risks and Dependencies
- Save the Date: 6 October 2022, Zurich, SFI/SSF Sustainable Finance Conference
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SSF and sustainable finance in the media
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- 10 June 2022, Le boom un peu suspect de la finance durable, Le Temps
- 10 June 2022, Un franc sur quatre est durable, La Liberté
- 10 June 2022, L'essor de la finance durable soulève des questions, L’AGEFI
- 9 June 2022, Sustainable Investment Makes Swiss Inroads, finews.ch
- 9 June 2022, Nachhaltige Anlagen erreichen ein Allzeithoch, Finanz und Wirtschaft
- 9 June 2022, L'investissement durable a bondi de 30% l'année dernière en Suisse, L’AGEFI
Visit our website for more articles.
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Nature Loss and Sovereign Credit Ratings
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In this report published by the Finance for Biodiversity Initiative, the impact of biodiversity loss on sovereign debt markets in 26 nations is examined. Currently, leading credit rating agencies (CRAs) do not explicitly incorporate biodiversity and nature-related risks in their analysis and thus market stability may be undermined. This report models the effect of nature loss on credit ratings, default probabilities, and the cost of borrowing.
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More >
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Does ESG Integration impact the real economy?
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In this joint report by the University of Zurich and Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth, commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the impact of ESG integration on the real economy is examined. ESG integration is the most frequently used sustainable investment approach, globally and within Switzerland. This report investigates current academic literature to determine if there is an impact on the real economy, and if so, what this is.
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More >
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Kind Regards,
The SSF Team
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SWISS SUSTAINABLE FINANCE
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