July was an important month for sustainable development in general and specifically sustainable finance.

SSF was able to join the international discussions on countries' initiatives to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sabine Döbeli was appointed to the official Swiss delegation for the UN High-Level Political Forum meeting held in New York. She spoke on behalf of the Swiss private sector bringing the topic of sustainable finance into the discussions. Furthermore, in late July, at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, a Communiqué was released emphasizing the development of green finance and welcoming voluntary options developed by the G20 Green Finance Study Group (GFSG).

On the European level, this summer the revision of the European Union’s Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) directive, which now contains clauses requiring the consideration of ESG issues in investment decision making, was agreed by the European Parliament, Council and Commission.

It is quite clear that ESG and Sustainable Finance have made it onto the agenda of key international bodies, making it ever more important for Swiss actors to join the conversations and provide input for further developments in the industry.

Kind regards

Jean-Daniel Gerber

President of Swiss Sustainable Finance

SSF activities

Regulatory and Market News

SSF and sustainable finance in the media

Save these dates

New studies & reports

Varia from our network

Read short summaries of our activities here and gain more insights on our website

High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), 18-20 July 2016, New York

Manuel Sager, Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) outlined the Swiss strategy in reaching the goals and Sabine Döbeli (CEO SSF) commented the report from a private sector perspective, stressing the importance of leveraging the goals to create new business opportunities.

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Side event on sustainable finance at the HLPF, 18 July 2016, New York

SSF was also part of many other events and discussions

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SSF has launched a new section on its website - 'Swiss Market Essentials' - to summarize regulations, policies, reports and announcements within Switzerland.

Below you find some of the most prominent topics over the last 2 months.

International initiatives

• Green finance was incorporated for the first time into the G20 agenda
• New EU-directive for pension funds (IORP II; Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision) integrates new requirements to assess ESG risks of holdings
• United Kingdom: New code of conduct for pension funds mentions that ESG is part of their fiduciary duty
• Task Force on climate-related Financial Risks Disclosure (TCFD) publishes Summary on the Public Consultation of the Phase 1 Report (5% of respondents are from Switzerland)
• UNEP Finance Initiative: ESG being part of ficudicary duty. New statement on investor obligations and duties published (can be signed now)
• FSB focuses next peer review on corporate governance

Market: thought leaders in finance

• Open letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission: three ex-Secretaries of the US Department of Treasury ask for mandatory and meaningful disclosures of the material effects of climate change
• Mark Carney (Bank of England) points out that climate change is a $7-trillion funding opportunity for capital markets

Market trends: Ratings, Green bonds and divestments

• PRI project on sustainable credit ratings is picking up speed
• Green bond market booms in China
• Further divestments from fossil fuels witnessed by Deutsche Bank and Sweden’s AP4

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26 July 2016, Die Volkswirtschaft, Die Zeit ist reif für nachhaltige Anlagen

19 July 2016, Swiss Confederation, Switzerland presents initial steps towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

7 July 2016, Fondstrends, Nachhaltige Produkte zu wenig transparent

24 June 2016, ticinotoday, Responsabilità sociale: un’ opportunità per le imprese

16 June 2016, Finews, Wie der Schweizer Finanzplatz nachhaltiger werden soll

Visit our website for regularly updated articles on SSF and sustainable finance

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Upcoming SSF Events

Zurich, 3 October 2016, Quantifying natural resource risks for lending and investment decisions

The Natural Capital Declaration (NCD), supported by SECO, has launched a project to develop and test methodologies, approaches and tools for mapping and subsequently integrating natural capital risks and opportunities across financial institutions’ lending and investment portfolios. This event, organized by the NCD, SECO and SSF, will provide attendees with an overview of this project as well as insights on how financial institutions are currently managing some of these hidden aspects.

Event details and official invitation will be sent out shortly.

Other Events

Bern, 21 September 2016, Unlocking blended finance for social entrepreneurs and social business, Ashoka

Zurich, 4 October 2016, 11th Annual Meeting Swiss Finance Institute: Sustainable Finance Moving Center Stage, SFI

Frankfurt, 17 November 2016, Decarbonise 2016: Aligning investment portfolios with the 2˚ Target, Responsible Investor

Full event calendar

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Reports you should not miss:

Switzerland’s initial steps towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Swiss Confederation, July 2016

In this report, Switzerland presents and accounts for the work it has undertaken so far in implementing the 2030 Agenda.

UK Guide to Code of Practice for Pension Funds defines encourages ESG integration

The Pensions Regulator, July 2016

The document provides guidance to pension schemes mandating that trustees should take into account factors that are financially material to any investment’s performance – such as the effects of climate change – and that ESG and ethical factors can be included if trustees also believe them to be significant.

Green Finance in Developing Countries

UNEP Inquiry, July 2016

This report outlines concerns and needs of developing countries in relation to green finance. In particular the report focuses on the specific challenges faced by developing countries due to their underdeveloped financial systems.

Bonds and Climate Change – The state of the market in 2016

Climate Bonds Initiative, July 2016

The Climate Bonds Initiative released their 2016 market report on “climate-aligned bonds”. It was found that the market is still dominated by non-labelled climate-aligned bonds as opposed to Green Bonds with an estimated $694bn of climate-aligned bonds outstanding, an increase of $96bn compared to a year ago.

Green Bonds – must keep the green promise!

WWF France, June 2016

This piece of research, mandated by WWF France, focuses on the green bond market and explores the diverse landscape of green definitions, standards, frameworks, and guidelines that are currently used in the market.

UBS ETF White Paper Series, Socially Responsible Investing: What to expect?

June 2016

This paper analyzes whether there is a measurable risk-adjusted performance effect which is related solely to the SRI screening process.

Read short summaries of these and other recent reports

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SSF congratulates Sustainable Finance Geneva (SFG) who has received the 'Mention 2016' of the ‘Bourse Cantonale du développement durable’ for the Swiss Social Stock Exchange project from the Canton of Geneva.

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Best regards

The SSF team

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