Newsroom

Diana Cullilas, CEO of the Swiss Better Gold Association, sheds light on the importance of responsible gold sourcing. Delving into the gold industry's intricate supply chain, she gives us an overview of Swiss Better Gold's key initiatives and offers valuable insights on enhancing due diligence for investors.

This month, we interviewed Noora Puro, Senior Manager of Standards at GRI, shedding light on GRI's latest initiative: the new mining standard. She explains the rationale behind targeting this sector, the comprehensive scope of the mining industry, the sustainability topics addressed by the standard, and its potential benefits for investors.

The Geneva Impact Investing Association (GIIA) invites you to join them in shaping the next generation of impact investors as mentors !

Greenwashing is seen, both in Switzerland and abroad, as a major risk to the implementation of effective sustainability policies. Efforts to combat greenwashing are therefore intensifying. Among the most recent developments occurred in Switzerland, this paper covers the Federal Council's decision of October 2023 to regulate by ordinance its strategy for combating greenwashing and the guideline published last December by the Swiss Commission for Fair Trading on green marketing.

Come discover the key insights from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos 2024 and key takeaways from members of the SFG community! Leaders emphasized the urgency of collaboration for challenges like climate change and AI governance.

Our 2023 Annual Report is now available and we are looking forward to your reading. It regroups all the essential information and highlights the key events that took place at SFG in 2023.

In November, the Federal Council published a position on greenwashing.  In the position, they stated more needs to be done to ensure there is common understanding about the criteria needed to label a financial product sustainable.  We sat down with Christoph Baumann, Envoy for Sustainable Finance at SIF, and Eszter Major, Lawyer at SIF, to learn more about how SIF will take the greenwashing position forward and other initiatives they have underway to enhance the sustainability of the Swiss financial centre.

SFG attended the 2023 UN Business and Human Rights Forum. Here we provide an overview of the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights and capture some key takeaways for our community.

We are currently searching for a bilingual intern to join our team 15 hours per week to support Communications activities.

Another edition of Building Bridges has come and gone and as the movement grows so too does the quality and diversity of the dialogue that happens within the conference program. This year, SFG strove to bring unique, forward-thinking topics to the agenda. Here are three key takeaways from each of our main events.

After the 2015 Paris Agreement, the TCFD was established to improve climate-related financial reporting. It aimed to provide comprehensive information about climate impacts, risks, and opportunities. Similarly, the TNFD offers guidance on nature-related risks and opportunities. We interviewed the UN Global Compact Network for Switzerland and Liechtenstein on the occasion of the TNFD's newly published recommendations.

We are pleased to announce the official launch of our Sustainable Finance Geneva Map. This interactive tool maps over 250 organizations working to advance sustainable finance in Geneva and the broader Romandie. We believe it is crucial for Geneva to further strengthen its position as a key sustainable finance centre globally and this map is a crucial tool in fostering a strong, united community.

We are pleased to announce the official launch of our Peace Finance Hub at SFG. This comprehensive tool is crafted to enrich your understanding of the intricacies associated with promoting peace finance. The dashboard provides valuable insights and practical knowledge to empower you to take proactive steps towards engaging in meaningful actions in this field.

Published in the form of a personal contribution co-authored with Hristina Stoyanova, Alexandre de Senarclens revisits for SFG the article he wrote last June for the newspaper Le Temps. Here, he proposes an amendment to OPP2 aimed at encouraging pension funds to adopt more sustainable investments. In this interview, we explore these issues, as well as the wider dynamic between the political and financial worlds.

We are pleased to announce the official launch of our Gender Dashboard at SFG. This comprehensive tool is designed to enhance your comprehension of the complexities associated with attaining gender equality and the concept of gender lens investing. The dashboard furnishes valuable insights and practical knowledge to empower you to proactively engage in meaningful actions in this field.

This month, Anne Barrat from the newspaper Le Temps interviewed our president, Marie-Laure Schaufelberger, about her new vision of growth. This vision is focused on a transition towards a decarbonized and just economy, aiming to contribute to the well-being of all the inhabitants of the planet.

We are currently searching for a bilingual intern to join our team 15 hours per week to support Communications activities.

Escape into the realm of books this summer with our curated selection of captivating reads. From fiction novels to thought-provoking non-fiction, our book recommendations will not only entertain you but also explore various sustainability subjects in a pleasant and engaging manner! Happy Summer!

This month, we interviewed Dorothée Baumann-Pauly, director of the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights, about the ability of financial institutions to advance human rights and challenges to capture human rights performance. She also explains the influence of the new CSDD Directive on these questions.

On January 1, 2023, the new "Guidelines for the financial service providers on the integration of ESG-preferences and ESG-risks into investment advice and portfolio management" from the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) came into force. Transitional periods apply to enable the financial institutions concerned to implement these new rules into their processes. This paper provides a preliminary overview of the main features of the SBA Guidelines.

This month, we sat down with Antoine Amiguet, one of our CSS members and a partner at Oberson Abels, about the latest FINMA consultation on environmental risks and other regulatory developments in the Swiss financial center. He explains the process, takeaways, and expected outcomes for financial institutions

This month, we interviewed Vincent Subilia, Director General of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services (CCIG), about the incoming 13th World Chambers Congress in Geneva, the biggest global platform for chamber leaders and professionals to exchange ideas, network, learn about innovation, and tackle current business issues affecting their communities. He explains its relevance and the importance of sustainability issues for businesses in Geneva and globally.

This month, we sat down with professional facilitators, Marina Protopopoff and Julien Zory, who are helping our members understand the fundamental science of climate change and biodiversity.  They told us more about the Climate Fresk movement and how it's changing the way people understand and interact with the biggest challenges of our time.

Every year Equileap publishes its Gender Equality Global Report & Ranking, which analyses 3,787 public companies around the world based on 19 gender equality criteria.  We took the liberty of compiling the key findings globally and in Switzerland. Read now

The Gender Lens Initiative for Switzerland is proud to announce the creation of a one-year pilot Ambassadors program, running from May 2023 to May 2024. We are searching 4-5 ambassadors.

In collaboration with Pictet, we have put together a special law review dedicated to genre.

This month, for this special edition of our newsletter dedicated to gender, we had the privilege to interview Elise Buckle and Dominique Brustlein-Bobst, respectively Co-Founder and Ambassador for SHE Changes Climate.

This month, we interviewed Tom Adams, co-founder and chief strategy officer at 60 Decibels, a company that specializes in data collection for impact measurement. He helps us to understand the complex world of impact measurement by debunking old persistent myths and he is providing us with solutions to truly modernize our impact measurement practices.

On January 19, SFG hosted the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) at an Ideas for Breakfast session with our members and the community.

In 2022, the Gender Lens Initaitive for Switzerland (GLIS) worked with Tameo Impact Fund Solutions to permanently add a gender lens section to the methodology of their annual Private Asset Impact Fund (PAIF) Report. See the key findings in our infographic and blog post.

Oberson Abels briefly explains the two recent documents published by the Swiss Federal Council intended to give an update on the progress made in the past few years in sustainable finance and to highlight some forthcoming developments. The Council presents ways to fight greenwashing and highlights 15 measures to be implemented from now until 2025 to further consolidate Switzerland's position to play a leading role in sustainable finance.

For our 15th year anniversary, we asked our founding members to look at what has been accomplished in the field of sustainable finance over the past 15 years and what are the challenges that still need to be overcome to make sustainable finance truly mainstream. Here are some of their thoughts. 

Join us for another edition of Ideas for Breakfast on January 19 this time featuring 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). They will share findings from the report “Risky Returns” and discuss how investors may engage in reducing nuclear dangers.

On December 6, we were pleased to host another Ideas for Breakfast event. This time, we had the opportunity to have as guests the UN Environment Program (UNEP) Team so they could impact for our members their new State of Finance for Nature report they just released.

This month, we interviewed Ivo Mulder, Head of the Climate Finance Unit at UN Environment Programme. He shed light on the many opportunities that nature finance presents, the evolving world of nature-related risk disclosure, and the private finance industry’s levers in preserving and restoring biodiversity, including some specific ideas for Geneva-based actors.

This month, we had the chance to talk with Pradeep Kakkattil, Co-Founder Health Innovation Exchange. Mr. Kakkattil touched on the critical role the private sector and private financing can play in scaling access to healthcare and saving lives. The COVID-19 pandemic showed us how fragile and vulnerable how health care systems were, thus emphasizing the need for more resilitent systems to ensure our economic development and future are not imperiled. 

SFG took part in 3 events at the latest Building Bridges Week, a ground-breaking event connecting finance with the SDGs. Here are our highlights.

The Gender Lens Initiative for Switzerland (GLIS) announced the release of the 2022 Annual Report on the state of Gender Lens Investing in Switzerland during Building Bridges Week in Geneva.

This month we spoke with Dr. Simon Zadek, soon to be the first Executive Director of NatureFinance. Core to our discussion was how best to scale market-shaping policies, innovation, and citizen action to make nature count in global finance. We also discussed how the unique Geneva and Swiss ecosystems are creating a global centre of excellence in nature finance. 

Secrétaire général de l’organisation mondiale de la météorologie OMM de 2004 à 2015, Michel Jarraud est l’auteur du rapport « La Genève internationale et l’urgence climatique ». Dans l'interview de ce mois-ci, il partage les conclusions de cette nouvelle publication et son point de vue sur la manière d'accélérer l'action climatique.

It is now impossible to talk about sustainable finance without mentioning the risk of greenwashing. Part II of this series discusses the initiatives and measures in Switzerland to address the concerns about greenwashing.

The dates of the Sustainable Finance Hackathon 2022 were recently announced so we took the opportunity to sit down with Thomas Maillart, the President of Open Geneva to learn more about how we can leverage open innovation to advance sustainable finance and to explore how the SFG community can participate in their upcoming Hackathon!

La fondation pour Genève vient de publier son dernier rapport sur l’état des lieux de la Genève internationale. Dans ce rapport, Michel Jarraud, a analysé l’écosystème genevois afin de souligner les forces et les faiblesses du pôle genevois et d’en tirer un ensemble de recommandations.

It is now impossible to talk about sustainable finance without mentioning the risk of greenwashing. Both the legislator and the financial market supervisory authorities consider it a major challenge to the effective transition to a low-carbon economy.

SFG's General Assembly saw the election of our New President, Marie-Laure Schaufelberger. In our Interview of the Month, we ask Marie-Laure about her vision for the organization and the unique role SFG plays in advancing a sustainable future.

Nous sommes à la recherche d'un(e) responsable administratif(ve) à temps partiel. Il s'agit d'une excellente occasion de rejoindre notre équipe et de contribuer à la finance durable.

In these turbulent times, everyone is struggling to make sense of the geopolitical risks that are on the horizon. We sat down with Gagik Sargsyan the CEO of Polixis to better understand how data and technology can help.

Sarah Djari is the new Vice President of the Gender Lens Initiative for Switzerland. She is an accomplished impact investor with practical experience in applying a gender lens to financial product creation. Get to know her and her views on the importance of gender lens investing.

In this paper, Oberson Abels addresses the state of the Swiss regulatory framework on climate-related financial risks through the example of the revision of FINMA Circulars' 2016/1 "Disclosure-banks" and 2016/2 "Disclosure-insurers".

Impact finance continues to gain traction but challenges still exist that prevent it from meetings its full potential. Patrick Elmer, the CEO of iGravity, sat down with us to discuss unique investment solutions and how tackling key barriers through novel solutions can drive capital to the SDGs.

SFG vient de publier son rapport d'activité pour 2021!

Sustainable finance geneva (SFG) s’est créé en 2008 avec la conviction que la finance doit changer de perspective.

Building Bridges has launched a Call for Events for its 2022 Edition. Organizations can submit their proposals until April 22.

SFG's Vice-President, Marie-Laure Schaufelberger, penned this touching letter to her daughter on International Women's Day that paints a picture of hope for what sustainable finance can achieve.

A world tour of SDG Impact Stories kicked off last month from Switzerland, three young people are traveling to 20 different countries to capture the stories of 50+ social entrepreneurs who are using business to achieve the SDGs. We interviewed them to find out more.

In this paper, Oberson Abels takes a closer look at the role assigned to transparency by climate policies and how it materializes in the new Swiss regulations about non-financial reporting duties.

The third annual State of Play report by the UNDP-hosted Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) Network has identified several key areas where more focus is required to underpin progress around the sustainable finance agenda.

SFG caught up with Peter Maurer, President of the ICRC, to learn more about its new Climate and Energy Transition Fund - what it aims to achieve, and how the finance industry and other private sector players can be involved in this mechanism and others in the future.

SFG is proud to announce the arrival of our new Community Manager, Kali Taylor. Kali started her position on January 15 and has already hit the ground running. Here’s everything you need to know about her and what she will be doing to support SFG members and stakeholders.

In this paper, Oberson Abels takes a closer look at the role assigned to transparency by climate policies and how it materializes in the new EU regulations about non-financial reporting duties.

To advance our mission, GLIS is currently looking for a Vice President, a transformative leader who can help increase industry awareness, collaborate with partners, inspire donors, and stimulate innovation.

To make food systems sustainable, the finance sector and the international organisations must take the plunge and cross over to the other side of the lake, said David Nabarro, senior adviser to the UN food summit, on the occasion of Building Bridges held in Geneva last week.

The finance community and world at large need to go beyond their nine-to-five job and take individual responsibility in making the planet a more sustainable place, the United Nations’ deputy secretary general Amina Mohammed urged at the Building Bridges summit on Monday.

Genève a toujours été une place de dialogue. Elle est riche d'un écosystème impressionnant. Elle est donc idéalement positionnée pour accueillir des démarches multilatérales qui visent à à faire converger les puissances de notre monde.

Berne, 17.11.2021 - Le Parlement a donné pour mandat au Conseil fédéral d’élaborer un rapport présentant les mesures permettant à la Suisse de rendre ses flux financiers compatibles avec les objectifs climatiques.

In 70 years, industrialized countries have developed a system of growth and economic development based on fossil fuels, which has led to extreme climate disruption.

Le canton n’accueillera pas l’organisme international appelé à créer les normes comptables du futur, qui incluront des dimensions environnementales. Francfort a été désignée sur la base de considérations d’ordre politique.

Speaking ahead of the UN climate talks, Haenni shares his expectations for Cop, how investors can use their influence to mobilise finance needed to deliver on the Paris climate goals, and where the Swiss pension industry stands in greening its portfolios.

L’événement, dont la deuxième édition se tiendra fin novembre, incarne la volonté de positionner la Suisse comme la place où la durabilité devait se discuter au niveau international.

Genève deviendra le centre de convergence de la finance durable durant une semaine de conférences et d’événements, un programme détaillé jeudi par les organisateurs.

Les inscriptions aux 77 événements, qui se dérouleront du 29 novembre au 2 décembre, sont désormais ouvertes.

Geneva aspires to become a global hub for sustainable finance. While it has all the right players on the ground, it also hosts an industry rich in allegations of climate-unfriendly practices.

On 29 September 2021, Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer and the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) presented the candidacy dossier for the city of Geneva to the competent electoral body, the International Accounting Standards Board of the IFRS.

Depuis janvier, Sandrine Salerno dirige l’association Sustainable Finance Geneva (SFG), qui, malgré sa taille modeste, est l’un des fleurons de la place pour avoir été pionnière dans un domaine aujourd’hui revendiqué par tous.

Symbiotics, the leading market access platform for impact investing, has arranged with Samunnati Financial Intermediation & Services Private Limited (“Samunnati”) its first Green Bond...

UN-convened Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) network member, the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) recently announced the establishment of a new think-tank and training centre...

France took a new and historic step on its journey to SDG5 in May 2021, when its legislator, the National Assembly, unanimously voted in favour of quotas for women in business leadership roles...

La semaine genevoise de la finance durable, qui se tiendra du 29 novembre au 2 décembre, lance un appel aux entreprises, ONG et autres organisations souhaitant mettre sur pied des événements pendant ces journées.

Sandrine Salerno, directrice de SFG, et Fabio Sofia, Président, ont participé à l’émission radio de RTS la 1e « On va vers le beau »...

If environmental, social, governance (ESG) investing was a soundtrack, “S” would be the song too often skipped over for its more catchy “E” counterpart – the green, chart-topping hit that has crowds gathering at a certain Glasgow concert later this year.

Sustainable Finance Geneva (SFG) was established to improve the alignment between financial activity and the requirements of sustainable development.

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PLANET EQUITIES OR CLIMATE BONDS? WHY CHOOSE? INVEST IN BOTH!

Yova lance une application novatrice qui permet à ses clients de suivre au quotidien les réductions de CO2 réalisées grâce à leurs investissements

Le fondateur d’AlphaMundi Group en Suisse a été élu lors d’une Assemblée Générale 2.0.

La finance durable prend de l’ampleur en Suisse. Les acteurs principaux (banques et institutions financières) manifestent un intérêt croissant dans le domaine et de plus en plus d’actions concrètes sont menées en renforcement d’une place financière suisse, durable.

Une infographie pour découvrir notre projet de Bourse des entreprises sociales...

With the Week, made up of 31 events, organized by 52 partners, and an estimated 1000+ attendees, and the Summit that brought together 800 high level participants, 26 partners, and 36 speakers...

Registration for 2020 online Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Sustainable Finance to help finance professionals seize growing opportunities offered by responsible investment is now open.

Join the first online training in sustainable finance !

Lancé à Genève en janvier, le Peace Fund encourage les multinationales à mener des actions stabilisatrices dans les pays fragiles.

Convaincu que la finance de demain se prépare aujourd’hui, Sustainable Finance Geneva (SFG) présente dans un livre 60 innovations financières face à 10 changements globaux pour promouvoir la finance durable.

C’est la reconnaissance de l’importance de la finance durable par les autorités genevoises qui est à l’origine de notre venue à Milan le 21 septembre prochain.