A long Easter weekend lies ahead. Over the past two months, seeds have sprouted not just in nature but in the field of sustainable finance, too.

End of March, SSF launched its publication in the area of private wealth management, an area where we see clear growth potential for the Swiss sustainable finance market. We have also compiled our 2016 annual report to help give our stakeholders an overview of the various activities and projects SSF has been involved in. Furthermore, the public side-event to our upcoming members’ assembly on 13 June is gaining shape: it will feature a keynote speech from the President of the Swiss Confederation, Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard. This prominent keynote is yet another sign that sustainable finance is gaining ground - the broad array of recent reports, media coverage and market news are further evidence of this trend.

With these and other news we wish you a joyful Easter break.

Kind regards

Sabine Döbeli

CEO Swiss Sustainable Finance

SSF Activities

Regulatory and market news

SSF and sustainable finance in the media

New members joining SSF

Save these dates

New reports & studies

Varia from our network

Launch event for publication on 10 arguments for sustainable investing in private wealth management

This SSF report, accompanied by a short film on this topic, highlights the opportunity created for Swiss private banking by the combination of Swiss strengths and clients’ growing demand for investments with a positive impact.
The event, attracting 100 professionals, also featured a keynote by Mr. Herbert J. Scheidt, President of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA), who ended his speech with a call to action directed at the entire industry to further engage in the topic and increase efforts to incorporate sustainable investing in their activities.

Read more and download the presentations from the event.

Launch event for SSF handbook for institutional asset owners and other interested parties in Ticino

SSF was once again in Ticino in April at an event attended by about 60 professionals. At this event, SSF presented its 2 latest publications and lead a discussion with local players on the growing importance of sustainable investments both for institutional and private clients.

Read more and download the presentations from the event.

SSF publishes Annual Report 2016

The Annual Report 2016 provides a comprehensive overview on the broad activities SSF tackled in the past year.

Read more about the events and download further materials

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Swiss news

• During its meeting on 3 March 2017, the Federal Council was informed about the relevant national and international developments in the area of environmental sustainability in financial market policy and the Confederation's commitment. The competent authorities will continue the dialogue with the financial industry and industry associations and selectively further intensify it. On the climate side, they will elaborate fundamentals. At the international level, SIF, in cooperation with the FOEN, will continue to engage actively with international financial bodies and in particular will provide support for the work of the G20 in the area of sustainability.
• The Swiss parliament’s press release “First decisions with regards to the new Financial Services Act (commonly known as ‘FIDLEG’)” from 22 February 2017 states that two motions, targeting the inclusion of an obligation of financial services providers to a sustainable corporate culture as well as to social and environmental responsibility in FIDLEG, were rejected by the commission.

International initiatives

• The European Parliament (EP) passed a legislation to amend the EU Shareholders’ Rights Directive with an ESG-driven focus. The directive requires institutional investors and asset managers to publicly disclose, on a comply or explain basis, their shareholder engagement policies and investment strategies. Proxy advisors will have to disclose key information related to the advice they have provided. Approved by the Council of the European Union, member states now have two years to implement the directive.
• The European Commission’s High-level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (HLEG) revealed the areas it will prioritise in its recommendations for how policymakers can make the European financial system more sustainable and encourage the transition to a low-carbon economy, and plans to publish its first report to coincide with the G20 Leaders summit in July.
• Italy’s Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea (MATTM) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the joint report “Financing the Future: Report of the Italian National Dialogue on Sustainable Finance”, which lays out a roadmap for Italy to increase flows of sustainable finance.
• Singapore plans to become the first Southeast Asian nation to put a price on carbon as it looks to cut greenhouse emissions to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement. In addition, Singapore’s central bank announced that it is launching a Green Bond Grant scheme which will cover the costs of external reviews for green bond issuance.
• The People's Bank of China and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced a joint initiative intended to combine policy and market best-practice and strengthen the framework for green investment.

Market trends

• The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) set up a new infrastructure workstream in response to the growing demand for sustainable infrastructure solutions in both developed and emerging markets.
• Furthermore, the PRI joined the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the UN Global Compact on developing a reporting framework around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The Financial Stability Board (FSB) welcomed a proposal by the TCFD to continue its work until at least September 2018 with a focus on promoting and monitoring adoption of the TCFD’s recommendations by companies and evaluating the extent to which the recommended disclosures are meeting the interests of users. The FSB also published a letter from Mark Carney, Chair of the FSB, sent to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ahead of their meeting in Baden-Baden from 17-18 March 2017. Therein, he sets out need for full implementation of agreed reforms and priorities for the G20 German Presidency.
• Deutsche Börse will be launching the Sustainable Finance Initiative in Frankfurt. The aim is to establish new interdisciplinary structures for sustainable entrepreneurship along with some 100 of the financial centre's key participants in order to explore new business areas.

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• 6 April 2017, NZZ, «Grüne» Themenfonds wieder im Kommen: Pictet rettet den guten Schweizer Ruf
• 26 March 2017, SonntagsBlick, Nachhaltige Fonds – Etikettenschwindel ist vorprogrammiert
• 23 March 2017, Corriere del Ticino, SSF i vantaggi sul portafoglio degli investimenti sostenibili
• 23 March 2017, L’Agefi, Une chance pour la gestion privée: Investissement durable. Etude SSF et 10 arguments clés pour les chargés de clientèle.
• 23 March 2017, cash.ch, Nachhaltiges Investieren: Das Vermögen ohne schlechtes Gewissen anlegen (Interview with SSF CEO, Sabine Döbeli)
• 20 March 2017, NZZ, Nachhaltige Entwicklungsziele der UN: Eine hohe Rendite für die Menschheit
• 17 March 2017, ORGANISATOR, Nachhaltigkeit bei Investitionen
• 28 February 2017, www.sri-connect.com, Meet ... Sabine Döbeli, CEO, Swiss Sustainable Finance

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

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We welcome the following organisations as new SSF members or network partners:

 Upcoming SSF Event

• Bern, 13 June 2017, SSF public side event to Members’ Assembly. Keynote by Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation for 2017.

More details and registration on the SSF Website

Other Events

• Zurich, 3-4 May 2017, Responsible Finance & Investment Summit 2017
• Zurich, 22-23 May 2017, 7th New Energy Investor Summit
• Geneva, 1 June 2017, Geneva Forum For Sustainable Investment (co-event by Voxia Communications and Conser Invest and in partnership with Sustainable Finance Geneva and SSF)

Further events are listed on the SSF Website

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• 28 March 2017: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released the paper “Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors” to explain the application of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in the context of institutional investors.
• 27 March 2017: The biennial Global Sustainable Investment Review draws on in-depth regional and national reports from GSIA members—Eurosif, Responsible Investment Association Australasia, RIA Canada and US SIF—as well as data and insights from the PRI, JSIF (Japan), LatinSIF and the African Investing for Impact Barometer. Together, these resources provide data points, insights, analysis and examples of the shape of sustainable investing worldwide.
• March 2017: Novethic's latest study, produced with the support of ADEME, analyses the European green funds market’s trends. The research centre reviewed a selection of 165 funds, that are available in 16 countries and hold assets of € 22 bn.
• March 2017: The new IGCC report “From Risk to Return: Investing in Climate Change Adaption” looks at how to scale up investment into adaptation and sets out a pathway ahead with specific recommendations that IGCC will be taking forward.
• 22 February 2017: “A Review of International Financial Standards as They Relate to Sustainable Development” follows the UN Environment Inquiry’s finding that a “quiet revolution” is taking place as policymakers and financial regulators address the need to forge robust and sustainable financial systems.
• 20 February 2017: The UN Environment Inquiry published a new working paper “On the Role of Central Banks in Enhancing Green Finance”, which results from a workshop it held with the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).
• 19 February 2017: The French Treasury (in collaboration with the Banque de France and the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution) released ”Assessing climate change-related risks in the banking sector: Synthesis of the project report submitted for public consultation with regard to Article 173 (V°) of the 2015 French Energy Transition Act”, stating among others that by a conservative estimate French banks’ exposure to climate-related risks amounts to 1%-15%.

Read these and other recent reports

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• The Swiss responsible investment association, SVVK-ASIR, published the names of 15 arms companies its members  should not invest in. Over the coming months, its members will decide on how to implement the exclusion recommendation in their portfolios. The association also launched an engagement campaign with companies deemed to fall most foul of certain environmental, social, and governance (ESG) norms.

Best regards

The SSF team

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