Around the world, high-level pledges to tackle the climate crisis continue to multiply, with the US and China announcing joint action to combat climate change. For investors and businesses alike, creating reliable long-term regulatory frameworks for a sustainable economy is an important step. On the investor side, the European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) has been in force for a little over a month now, setting out increased sustainability disclosure requirements. On the level of the real economy, the revised Swiss CO2 law will be put to popular vote this June. SSF supports the revised CO2 law as part of the “Business for the CO2 Act” committee.

SSF is also looking forward to many exciting upcoming events: The Responsible Investor country spotlight event on Switzerland will take place next week, with a session on Swiss investors’ alignment to the Paris accord featuring our CEO Sabine Döbeli. Moreover, we are particularly happy to already announce the launch of the Swiss Sustainable Investment Market Study 2021 with a webinar on 7 June, and our Annual Conference on 22 June.

Swiss news

• The Green Fintech Network, the Swiss network of start-ups and experts in green fintech, published an Action Plan for Green Fintech in Switzerland. It sets out 16 concrete measures for a future-proof combination of digital technology and a sustainable financial sector.

• The Federal Council released the implementing provisions on the new due diligence obligations of companies (the counter-proposal to the Responsible Business Initiative) for consultation, which is open until 14 July 2021.

International developments

• The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and the International Network for Sustainable Financial Policy Insights, Research, and Exchange (INSPIRE) launched a joint Study Group on ‘Biodiversity and Financial Stability’, reflecting the growing importance of broader nature-related risks and the conservation of nature and biodiversity for central banks and supervisors.

• France has introduced one of the world’s first legal sanctions directly tackling greenwashing, under which guilty parties could be extensively fined for false promotional campaigns.

• Moreover, France’s official “Investissement Socialement Responsable” (ISR) label is being reviewed, which will likely lead to a tightening of the requirements of the label.

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) adopted mandatory sustainability reporting, meaning that from 2022, the largest 1,000 Indian public companies will be required to disclose a suite of granular sustainability performance metrics.

• The IFRS Foundation announced a new working group, including IOSCO, TCFD, Value Reporting Foundation and CDSB, to accelerate convergence in global sustainability reporting standards and examine a potential international sustainability reporting standards board.

Market trends

• The $54 trillion investor-led initiative Climate Action 100+ released a Net Zero Company Benchmark of the world’s largest corporate emitters. While companies are making ambitious climate commitments, the assessment shows that considerable work remains to deliver those promises.

• As the first cement producer in the world, LafargeHolcim has introduced a ‘Say on Climate’ vote at its AGM, following requests made by investor coalitions.

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

• InvestInvent AG (Asset Manager)
• PKB PRIVATBANK SA (Bank)

The full list of our members and network partners, now standing at 172, can be found on the SSF website.

Save the date for these SSF events:

• 7 June 2021, SSF Swiss Sustainable Investment Market Study Launch Event, online, more information soon on SSF website
• 22 June 2021,SSF Members’ Assembly (members only), online
• 22 June 2021, Annual Conference (public), online
• 29 November 2021, Building Bridges, Geneva

Other sustainable finance events:

• 21 April 2021, Gender Lens Initiative for Switzerland (GLIS) Webinar 01, online
• 26-30 April 2021, RI country spotlight: Switzerland (SSF is an official partner of this event), online
• 4 May 2021, UNIGE Webinar: human rights in the finance industry, online
• 5 May 2021, “Warum braucht die Schweiz ein neues CO2-Gesetz?” mit Bundesrätin Simonetta Sommaruga, online
• 12 May 2021, Sustainable Finance: Auswirkungen auf die Realwirtschaft, online
• 26 May 2021, Aligning Financial Portfolios with Biodiversity Goals, online
• 21-22 June 2021, New Energy Investor Summit, Zurich

• 21 April 2021, Corriere del Ticino, Investimenti sostenibili e screening normativo (by SSF Team member Alberto Stival)
• 15 April 2021, Tribune de Genève, Banque, finance, Code des obligations et CO₂
• 9 April 2021, Expert Focus, Wie finde ich das passende Impact Investment? Hilfreiche Kriterien im Überblick
• 8 April 2021, The Onliner, Was hat es mit dem CO2-Preis auf sich? (includes video interview with SSF CEO Sabine Döbeli)
• 8 April 2021, NZZ, Nachhaltige Anlagen Neue Regeln bringen nicht die erhoffte Transparenz (with comments by SSF CEO Sabine Döbeli)
• 2 April 2021, Finanz und Wirtschaft, ESG-Ratings unter der Lupe
• 17 March 2021, fintechnews.ch, An Overview of the Swiss Green Fintech Sector

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