As a challenging year comes to an end, we look back on numerous concrete actions in and further attention on sustainable finance around the globe.

The Federal Council’s publication of a first report in June and its adoption of concrete measures to make the Swiss financial centre sustainable last week showcases that in Switzerland too, the government increasingly puts sustainable finance centre stage. On the European level, the implementation of the sustainable finance action plan is in full course, while in the context of the “International Platform on Sustainable Finance” global alignment on definitions is also being sought.

In this context, we at Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF) are very proud to have launched our new and timely compendium on “Financing the Low-Carbon Economy”, which highlights the breadth of finance instruments available to support a low-carbon economy and future.

SSF is convinced that 2020 has provided us with important building blocks for a sustainable world. We look forward to bringing sustainable finance to a next level in 2021.

Kind regards and stay healthy,
Sabine Döbeli
CEO, Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF)

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

 
New publication on Financing the Low-Carbon Economy

Report launch webinar

New video series on key chapters of the report

Swiss insights at the annual general meeting of FC4S

ESG & Sustainable Finance Skills webinar

Read more about these and other SSF activities

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Swiss news

• On 11 December, the Federal Council adopted concrete measures to make the Swiss financial centre sustainable. In its new financial market strategy, sustainability also figures as one of three main pillars.
  
  
• The Swiss Government launched a new website ‘finance.swiss’ in collaboration with key players from Switzerland’s financial centre, also featuring sustainable finance as a prominent element.

• The results of the second PACTA climate alignment tests of Swiss financial institutions, mandated by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) illustrate progress on alignment with Paris Agreement goals amongst the 179 participants, but also demonstrate remaining gaps.
• The State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) launched the Green Fintech Network, with the aim to foster close cooperation between experts in the green fintech ecosystem and SIF.
• Swiss financial market supervisor FINMA opened a consultation on a proposed transparency in climate change risk reporting requirement for large banks and insurances.
• Klima-Allianz Schweiz carried out a rating of 110 Swiss pension funds, in which it rated only 8% of total investment volume as “green”. The rating was accompanied by recommendations for Swiss pension funds.

International initiatives

• The European Union published a first set of detailed criteria for the Taxonomy, which are now open for consultation until December 18.
• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) announced they will merge in mid-2021 and form the Value Reporting Foundation, in a move to further harmonise ESG reporting standards.
• The United Kingdom revealed its plan to issue its first sovereign green bond in 2021 and make climate risk disclosure mandatory for listed major companies from 2025.
• The Global Green Finance Index published the 6^th edition of its ranking, which assesses 74 financial centres on their green finance offerings. Zurich and Geneva both ranked amongst the top ten, with Zurich taking the first place in the green finance quality rating as well as in the combined depth and quality rating.
• The Net-Zero Asset Manager initiative was launched with a group of 30 asset managers committing to net zero emissions goal by 2050 or sooner, and includes many SSF members.

Market trends

• The European Development Finance Institutions announced a shared commitment to phase out fossil fuels and mobilise private sector climate finance, aligning with Paris Agreement and high disclosure standards.
• New York State's pension fund announced that the fund is moving to divest from the riskiest oil and gas companies by 2025 and decarbonise by 2040.
• Deutsche Bank declared it will link top executives’ pay with sustainable financing targets, starting in 2021.

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

• Aviva Investors (Asset manager)
• Groupe Mutuel Prévoyance - GMP (Asset owner)
• Rothschild & Co. Bank AG (Bank)
• swissQuant (Service provider)

The full list of our members and network partners, now standing at 166, can be found on the SSF website.

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Upcoming SSF events:

• 15 December 2020, Webinar on Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR) Requirements, SSF members and network partners only (contact us for more information), Online

Other sustainable finance events:

• 15 December 2020, SIIA and Camomile Year ending fireside chat: Finance in Climate, Online

Further events are listed on the SSF Website.

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• 11 December 2020, Tagesanzeiger, Klimaziele für Banken. WWF kritisiert «verpasste Chance» für grünen Finanzplatz
• 3 December 2020, NZZ, Verlagsbeilage: Nachhaltig Investieren
• 20 November 2020, Heidi.News, La finance peut réaliser sa transition énergétique si elle s'en donne les moyens  
• 19 November 2020, SRF Echo der Zeit, Schweizer Finanzplatz muss klimafreundlicher agieren (Interview with SSF CEO)
• 19 November 2020, Le Temps, Moins d’un fonds durable sur trois est bon pour la planète
• 16 November 2020, SRF Eco, Nachhaltigkeit lohnt sich – erst recht mit Corona
• 13 November, IPE Magazine, Swiss schemes pushed to meet climate targets, curb GHG emissions
• 11 November 2020, SRF Tagesschau, Finma-«Risikomonitor» fordert mehr Transparenz beim Klimawandel
• 6 November 2020, RSI, Il Quotidiano (l'intervista sulla finanza sostenibile inizia al minuto 26:30)
• 4 November 2020, Finanz und Wirtschaft, Kriegsbeile aus Anlagen verbannen

Visit our website for more articles and regular updates

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• December 2020: In a report entitled “Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development 2021”, the OECD lays out a call to collective action to address both the short-term collapse in resources of developing countries, as well as long-term strategies to build back better following the COVID-19 pandemic.
• December 2020: The discussion paper “Climate Financial Risks: Assessing Convergence, Exploring Diversity” by the Council on Economic Policies and ETH Zurich analyses the convergence and divergence of various climate risk analysis method results
• November 2020: The study “Bridging the Gap” by 2° Investing Initiative, FOEN and Wüest Partners presents the results of the 2020 PACTA climate test of Swiss financial institutions.
• November 2020: The Swiss Finance Institute’s Roundup Report provides evidence-based perspectives on the opportunities and risks in the transition to a green economy. The report includes input from SSF CEO Sabine Döbeli.
• November 2020: The 2020 IFZ Sustainable Investment Study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts assesses the offering of sustainable mutual funds in the Swiss fund market. It found that about one fourth of all mutual funds fall into the category “sustainable”.
• November 2020: In an overview of the climate impact of financial markets’ action commissioned by the FOEN and published by the Center for Social and Sustainable Products different impact channels for change in the real economy and associated measures theoretically available to financial market players are analysed.
• October 2020: The “Investor’s Guide to Impact’, produced by the Centre for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth at the University of Zurich, in collaboration with Climate-KIC and FC4S, provides evidence-based advice for investors aiming to drive change.
• October 2020: Symbiotics’ Private Impact Fund Report 2020 showcases an analysis of over 150 investment funds that target emerging and frontier markets with a development impact focus.

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

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