The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership.
The scope of European Union legislation, in the field of accelerating and harmonizing rules on sustainable finance, has expanded considerably in the past few years and is gradually broadening.
While the definition of the European Taxonomy relating to the environment is being enriched and fully defined, at the same time the Social Taxonomy currently in proposal form, presented by the Platform on Sustainable Finance to the European Commission on last February, is making its way into the European legislative landscape.
In the early days of sustainability, many companies viewed it as a regulatory compliance issue. Businesses would do the minimum required to meet environmental standards and then move on, without giving much thought to how sustainability might actually benefit their operations.
Sustainable business practices are aimed at creating long-term value for stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders and the community, while ensuring that natural resources are conserved and protected for future generations. More and more companies today are embracing this triple bottom line concept (People, Plant and Profit), recognizing that there is room to realize business advantages along with social and environmental benefits, as an analysis by the Harvard Business Review points out. But how can a company, and especially a small-medium sized one, achieve that? And why should a business choose a green approach?
Compared to SMEs, under Directive 2014/95/EU, large companies have several more pieces of information to publish related to environmental and social matters,treatment of employees and respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery diversity on company boards (in terms of age, gender, educational and professional background).
Synesgy's success are the dedicated questionnaires, which are based on timely and rigorous references of global ESG market regulations such as UNGC, GRI, UN 17 SDGs, EBA LOM, and EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities.
Climate change poses significant risks to businesses around the world. Extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes, can disrupt supply chains and cause widespread damage to infrastructure. Rising sea levels can threaten coastal properties and infrastructure, while increasing temperatures can impact worker health and productivity. Failure to address these risks by companies leads them to lose market share and profits, as consumers and investors demand more environmentally responsible practices.
In addition to delicious snacks, delicious drinks and engaged participants, there were fascinating presentations on the topic of ESG. The outstanding speakers were Luca Bonaccorsi, Dr Astrid Offenhammer, Richard Gaechter, Gabriel Marosi and Patrick Zimmerli. Stefanie Egger, head of CRIF ESG Consulting, chaired this enlightening afternoon.
Since the Swiss Federal Council announced in July 2023 that large companies in Switzerland will also be required to submit a sustainability report as of 2024, many companies have been faced with a challenge. This challenge affects not only companies with more than 500 employees, which fall under the scope of the new law, but also their suppliers, including small and medium-sized enterprises. The sustainability report doesn't just concern the individual company, but is intended to create transparency throughout the entire supply chain.