Swiss companies with total assets of at least 20 million Swiss francs or sales of more than 40 million Swiss francs will be subject to the Climate Reporting Ordinance from January 1, 2024. This ordinance intends to highlight risks.
Transparency by large companies on the climate impact of their activities is a key element for the functioning of markets as well as for climate sustainability in the financial sector. So far, Switzerland lacks clear, comparable disclosures in the area of climate. The Federal Council wants to make this possible with the new ordinance. It has therefore adopted the executive ordinance on climate reporting for large Swiss companies. The ordinance provides for the mandatory implementation of the internationally recognized recommendations of the TCFD - Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures - for large Swiss companies.
Public reporting reveals risks
Public companies, banks and insurance companies that employ at least 500 people and have a balance sheet total of at least 20 million Swiss francs or sales of more than 40 million Swiss francs are required to report publicly on climate issues. Public reporting includes, on the one hand, the financial risk that a company incurs through climate-related activities. On the other hand, it must disclose what impact the company's business activities have on the climate. In addition, it must describe what reduction targets the company has set with regard to its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and how it plans to implement them.
Regulation receives broad support
During the consultation period from March to July 2022, the draft ordinance was widely supported by interested parties, as reported by the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters SIF. In order to give the affected companies sufficient time for implementation, the Federal Council has decided to bring the ordinance into force on January 1, 2024.
