It was a great honour for me to take over the Presidency of Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF) this summer in a time when sustainable finance has been moving from niche to mainstream. Looking back at the first half year creates a sense of pride, as SSF was able to shape the future direction of the industry through its manifold activities. The Roadmap for Key Swiss Financial Market Players that SSF published during Building Bridges is a milestone in this respect.

Over the last six months the pressure on the financial industry has been increased by both regulators and the civil society, with COP26 in Glasgow fuelling private sector action. Many financial market players have stepped up their efforts to contribute to the transition to a more sustainable future and have made concrete commitments to net-zero. However, a lot still remains to be done in the coming years.

I have experienced SSF as a powerful and well-renowned organisation, also due to the active engagement of its members and partners. We are proud that SSF keeps attracting many new members, among which a growing number of pension funds. I am convinced that the fruitful collaboration with all our members is the key ingredient for an auspicious 2022. I am very much looking forward to continue this journey and work on a dedicated implementation of all the measures sketched in the Roadmap, together with our members and partners.

I wish you a pleasant festive season and Happy New Year.

Swiss News

• The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs launched its Sustainable Development Goals Impact Finance Initiative (SIFI) on 1 December. The initiative, supported by SSF, aims to mobilise up to one billion Swiss francs in private capital to advance measurable impact in developing countries.
• Regarding the corporate responsibility initiative, the Federal Council has brought the new provisions in the Code of Obligations and the new ordinance into force on 1 January 2022. The law grants companies one year to adjust to the new obligations. They will therefore apply for the first time in the 2023 business year. Read the press release here.

EU News

• Taxonomy: On 9 December 2021 the Climate Delegated Act was published in the Official Journal. Its provisions come into effect as of 1 January 2022. 
• The European Commission informed that the application date of the Regulatory Technical Standards for the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation will be delayed. Instead of applying as of 1 July 2022 these disclosure requirements will apply as of 1 January 2023. Eurosif has put together a practical overview of disclosure requirements with all key dates and misalignments.

Market trends

• Private Asset Impact Fund Report 2021: This report is based on a survey conducted by Tameo on private asset impact funds (PAIFs). It illustrates the result of an analysis of 175 investment funds. Switzerland-based investment managers represent 35% of assets under management in the sample.

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

• Privatbank Von Graffenried AG (Bank)

The full list of our members and network partners, now standing at 195, can be found here.

• 8 December 2021, Le Temps, Finance durable: pourquoi exclure ne sert à rien
• 3 December 2021, SRF Börse, Empfehlungen an die Finanzinstitute
  (video with Patrick Odier and Sabine Döbeli)
• 3 December 2021, NZZ, Nachhaltiger Finanzplatz: Es wird Zeit, die Puzzleteile zusammenzusetzen
• 2 December 2021, Le Temps, La Confédération donne une impulsion à la finance d’impact
• 1 December 2021, finews.ch, SSF-Roadmap: Bis 2030 im Einklang mit Nachhaltigkeits-Zielen
• 28 November 2021, Tages-Anzeiger, Bund plant Gütesiegel für grüne Anlagen
• 22 November 2021, Corriere del Ticino Mag, Impact investing – il vero impatto
• 15 November 2021, Le Temps, Les fonds ESG sont-ils proposés au juste prix?
• 11 November 2021, finnews.ch, Patrick Odier: «Wir waren schon immer digitale Vorreiter»

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