Having re-joined the team in July, I am happy to be back and see how much the SSF membership has grown and how many projects are currently underway. SSF used the summer months to prepare for an exciting autumn.

Just yesterday, we launched a study on net zero, jointly with other finance associations (see SSF news below). At the academic conference on sustainable finance research GRASFI, that will take place in Zurich this year, we’ll sponsor a research award on “transparency for stakeholders”. After all, we consider it key to get more insights about how to best provide transparency for clients. Also, different SSF events are now open for sign-up: check out the program of the interesting conference on sustainability in commodities taking place in Lugano soon.

With only about one month left to the Building Bridges Summit in early October, Swiss players and the SSF team are working hard to complete projects in various areas of sustainable finance. These include providing clear guidance on Swiss Climate Scores, the launch of a TNFD national consultation group and many other activities. Join SSF at Building Bridges for one of our events.

I am proud to come back to such a motivated team with an exciting project pipeline and to contribute to the further success of sustainable finance in Switzerland.

Swiss News

• The framework for the issuance of green Confederation bonds has been adopted by the Swiss Federal Council. Issuing such bonds can help promote the application of international standards on the Swiss capital market and encourage Swiss capital market players to issue their own green bonds.

EU News

• Reponses to an EU Commission consultation on “ESG ratings and ESG factors in credit ratings” are illuminated in the recently published summary report. According to this summary, a large majority of respondents (81%) use a combination of overall ESG ratings with E, S, G or even more granular ratings. Most of these respondents (61%) buy ESG ratings as part of a package wiith other ESG data or services including screening, benchmarks and fund ratings. The summary details the use of ESG ratings and the dynamics of the market and incorporation of ESG factors in credit ratings.
• ESMA published a consultation paper on the product governance changes to MiFID II made under the EU's ESG framework . The herein stated changes come into effect on 22 November 2022. The consultation period closes on 7 October 2022. During Q4 2022, ESMA will consider the responses received and aims to publish a final report and final guidelines in Q1 2023 (i.e., after the sustainability-related changes at Level 2 start to apply on 22 November 2022).
• The Complementary Delegated Act (CDA) under the Taxonomy Regulation has been published in the Official Journal on 15 July 2022. The CDA classifies certain fossil gas and nuclear energy activities as transitional activities which contribute to climate change mitigation under the Taxonomy Regulation. Its provisions will apply from 1 January 2023.

International News

• GFANZ has an open consultation running until 12 September 2022 on their publication “Measuring Portfolio Alignment: Enhancement, Convergence, and Adoptation”. The report outlines portfolio alignment using case examples and detailed guidance for designing and implementing portfolio alignment metrics. The final report will be published ahead of COP27.
• At the start of August the responses to a GFANZ consultation by the UK on “the role of private finance in decarbonising the economy” was published. It includes comments on the newly released Race to Zero criteria (published June 2022).

We are happy to welcome the following organisation as new SSF member:  

• Exxeta GmbH (Service Provider)
• St.Gallerkantonalbank (Bank)

The full list of our members and network partners, now standing at 214, can be found here.

• 31 August 2022, Zurich, Impact Finance Lab: Taking Responsibility Together
• 5-7 September, Zurich, 5^th Annual GRASFI Conference
• 7 and 8 September 2022, Winterthur, Swiss Green Economy Symposium
• 7 September 2022, Ticino, Sustainable mortgages: a necessary step towards a green economy
  
• 22 September, Vaduz, Liechtenstein Workshop of Sustainable Finance 2022
• 22 September, Geneva, Geneva Forum for Sustainable Investment (GFSI)
• 3-6 October 2022, Geneva, Save the Date: Building Bridges Week 2023
  • SSF Events and partner events:
    • 4 October, 16:00-18:30 - SECO/SSF Innovative Blended Finance Solutions for Impact
    • 5 October, 14:00-15:30 - SSF/ZHAW Sustainable Investing 4.0: Big Data and AI for Maximal Impacts
    • 5 October, 14:00-15:30 - AMAS/SSF Joint Workshop: “From International Sustainability Standards to the Swiss Climate Scores”
    • 5 October, 16:00- 17:30 - SSF/BAFU TNFD as a Solution to Address Biodiversity Risks and Dependencies
• 6 October 2022, Zurich, SFI/SSF,  Sustainable Finance Conference: How Finance Enables Positive Change
• 2 November 2022, Zurich, ZHAW/ SSF, Big Data and AI for Sustainable Investing – from Biodiversity Risks to Sustainable Gold
• Save the Date: 8 and 9 November, Zurich and Geneva, SSF Annual Sustainable Finance Education Forum

• 28 August 2022, La Suisse, modèle de résilience face aux défis actuels, Le Temps
• 25 July 2022, Wie wir die Transformation zur « Green Economy » schaffen, Handelszeitung
• 19 July 2022, La formation, un facteur clé de la transition durable, Le Temps
• 12 July 2022, Tableau de bord de la finance durable : Actions Etats-Unis, L’AGEFI
• 11 July 2022, Nachhaltig nichtssagend: Der Kampf gegen Greenwashing lohnt sich, NZZ

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