This autumn, Switzerland made headlines with milestone initiatives and activities on sustainable finance in Geneva. SSF is proud to have represented the Zurich financial centre, together with SFG representing the Geneva financial centre, during FC4S’s 2nd Annual Meeting in Geneva, where 30 financial centres from around the world reunited to develop a strategy to align their investments with the Paris Agreement and the SDGs. Benefiting from the presence of this strong network, the Building Bridges Week and Summit were organized during the same week and successfully strengthened bridges between a wide range of actors aiming to help achieve the SDGs through the creation of investment opportunities.

The teamwork displayed within the Swiss community to host 30 different events in one week and bring together key players is a sign that Switzerland is 100% committed to adopting appropriate measures to meet the SDGs and push sustainable finance to new levels. This commitment, also evident in the Swiss Brochure launched last week, is stronger than ever. But more needs to be done and we are fully aware that the journey ahead is still long.

Kind regards,

Jean Laville

Deputy CEO Swiss Sustainable Finance

SSF activities at a glance

Regulatory and market news

New members joining SSF

Join these events

SSF and sustainable finance in the media

New reports & studies

Successful Building Bridges Summit in Geneva

Statements by the President of the Swiss Confederation, the CEOs of UBS and Julius Baer, and other influential voices, expressed the urgency to join efforts to finance the achievement of the SDGs. View short summary and event pictures

New brochure: Switzerland for Sustainable Finance

SSF at FC4S Annual Meeting

FC4S also agreed to strengthen public-private collaboration and support coherence across markets, and launched a regional work plan for Africa. Read more

«Finanza sostenibile, una questione solo etica?»

Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB)

PRI in Person

This year’s PRI in Person took place in Paris and saw a record of 1600 attendees. Beside high-profile plenaries, the conference featured breakout sessions on various topics. Jean Laville, deputy CEO of SSF, spoke on the panel of a session co-organised by SSF, dedicated to sustainable finance education for institutional investors. More on PRI in person

Read more about these and other SSF activities

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Swiss news

• A new report on Swiss microfinance and impact investment published by Symbiotics showed that with USD 9.3 bninvested in diverse impact investing themes, Swiss impact investment fund managers manage or advise 32% of global for-profit fund managers’ capital in emerging markets.
• In a joint message to Swiss financial authorities, around 50 Swiss development finance practitioners called upon the government to better support private capital mobilization for financing the SDGs. SSF has co-signed the declaration and is already working on some of the targeted activities in its impact investing workgroup.
• The CAS Sustainable Finance offered by the HEG-GE was awarded «Best Pedagogical Innovation» at the FIR-PRI Finance & Sustainability Awards 2019.
• On a similar note, Amundi won the «Real World Impact Initiative of the Year» at the inaugural PRI Awards for its fund Amundi Planet Emerging One, for which SECO provided technical assistance.
• In the Swiss Parliament, two further motions targeting sustainable finance were submitted by the Liberals as well as the Christian Democrats, adding to the long list of proposals already submitted on the topic this year.

International initiatives

• With the newly formed Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, some of the world’s largest pension funds and insurers, including Swiss Re and Zurich, have committed to transitioning their portfolios to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
• The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 322 on Sustainable Finance, established last October, plans to approve the work item proposal by 21 October 2019 and start convening an international working group to develop principles and guidelines on sustainable finance.
• After the EU Parliament voted on the taxonomy in March, the EU Council has now given its green light on the classification system. However, the implementation date has been pushed back to 2022, although this potential delay can still be reversed by other EU institutions.
• This Friday, the EU is set to launch an International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) in Washington D.C., through which it aims to expand activities under its Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth internationally.
• In France, Art. 173 has been extended to include disclosure requirements on biodiversity, now requiring investors to report not only on how they factor carbon-related risks in their investments, but also on biodiversity-related risks.

Market trends

• Zurich-based Carbon Delta, a leading environmental fintech providing data and climate risk analysis models for financial markets, has been acquired by MSCI in a move to expand climate risk assessment capabilities
• The London Stock Exchange is to create a new standard for green bonds listed on its market and has launched a Green Economy Mark, which recognizes issuers with green revenues of at least 50%.
• This September at the NY Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index celebrated its 20^th anniversary, having pioneered sustainable indexing and has shaped corporate sustainability practices ever since.

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We are happy to welcome the following organisations to our network:

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Upcoming SSF events:

• 5/ 6 November, Joint events with the PRI, Using existing global frameworks to ensure more resilient investment, Zurich/Geneva. The Zurich event is fully booked but will be live-streamed. Registration for the Geneva event is still open.
• 20 November, WWF Switzerland & SSF joint event, First event of breakfast series to meet the academics - Linking environmental risks to financial risks, Zurich (for SSF members only - more information online)

Other sustainable finance events:

• 31 October, Energy and Cleantech Startup Day, Zurich (investors can sign up for a special startup speed dating session)
• 21 November, Sustainable Investment Day, Zurich

Other activities:

• The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) is currently conducting a poll on investment practices relating to climate risks and financial disclosures, including the TCFD recommendations. Participate here before 18 October

Further events are currently being planned – more information on our website

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• 16 October 2019, CNN Money Switerzland, What it takes to make sustainable finance mainstream
• 13 October 2019, RTS, Sergio Ermotti: "il n'y a pas que les jeunes qui se soucient du climat"
• 12 October 2019, Tagesanzeiger, «Viele Schweizer Banken kennen ihren CO2-Fussabdruck nicht»
• 10 October 2019, L’Agéfi, Building Bridges lance à Genève le dialogue entre finance et développement
• 8 October 2019, Investrends.ch, Nachhaltige Anlagen: Grosse Chancen für Schweizer Finanzplatz
• 7 October 2019, RTS Info, Genève veut se positionner comme capitale de la finance durable
• 7 October 2019, SRF 4 News, Radio interview with SSF CEO Sabine Döbeli
• 2 October 2019, Le Temps, Les investisseurs bancaires se mettent au vert
• 26 September 2019, Corriere del Ticino, L’etica risulta pagante a livello di performance
• 22 September 2019, NZZ am Sonntag, Wie Sie bewusst investieren (print only)
• 19 September 2019, punkt4info, Nachhaltiges Anlegen hat Priorität und Potenzial
• 19 September 2019, Allnews, Finance durable: l’ASB et SSF s’engagent en faveur de conditions-cadres optimales

Visit our website for more articles and regular updates

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• October 2019: A newly published guide for the insurance industry provides practical guidance to insurers on how to prevent or reduce the risk of insuring and investing in companies or projects whose activities could damage World Heritage Sites.
• September 2019: On a similar topic, ShareAction released a report entitled «Insuring a Low-Carbon Future», which explores how climate awareness is being integrated into underwriting, investment and group-wide risk management practices.
• September 2019: The zRating Study on Corporate Governance in Swiss Public Companies was published for the 11^th time, evaluating 174 listed Swiss companies regarding shareholders’ rights and drawing attention to possible conflicts between shareholders and managers.
• September 2019: The Climate Finance Leadership Initiative has published a report on «Financing the Low-Carbon Future» which examines the challenges and potential solutions to delivering the necessary private financing for a sustainable low-carbon economy. The report identifies 5 factors that are hampering progress.
• September 2019: A recent study by the BlueOrchard Academy, compiled in cooperation with the University of Zurich and FINEXUS discusses climate-related risks and their impact, especially on less-developed countries as well as potential economic losses in the financial system.

Read these and other reports in our Digital Library on Sustainable Finance

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