Large Swiss companies and financial institutions will be required to disclose information on their climate-related risks, impacts and plans following new legislation passed.
The legislation was passed by the Swiss government’s Federal Council under the name of Ordinance on Climate Disclosures.
According to ESG Today, public companies, banks and insurance firms will be required to provide reporting based on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
The rules will apply to businesses that hold 500 or more employees, at least CHF 20 million in total assets or more than CHF 40 million in revenue.
Mandated disclosures under the new ordinance include reporting on climate-related risks, as well as on the impact of company activities on climate change. Reporting obligations will also include disclosures of all direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, as well as emissions reduction targets and on how the companies plan to implement these goals.
To provide firms with enough time to implement the new disclosure requirements, the Council pushed back enforcement of the new rules by a year from its original proposal to January 2024, with reporting beginning in 2025.
The Federal Council said, “Large companies’ transparency on the climate impact of their activities is a key aspect for the markets to function well and for climate sustainability in the financial sector. To date, Switzerland has lacked clear and comparable climate-related disclosures. The Federal Council intends to make that possible with the new ordinance.”
Fennel, an ESG-focused platform that gives retail investors access to tools to better engage with companies, recently launched its mobile investing app.
According to Fennel, the key feature of its app is its in-app ESG data and rankings, which the firm says provides unprecedented information to retail investors on public firms’ ESG practices.
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