Commercial, GHG Emissions  -  August 20, 2021

Swiss Regulators to Require Climate Disclosures from Large Companies

Large Swiss companies will soon be obligated to report publicly on climate-related issues under regulations going through a review process by the government.

The Swiss Federal Council decided Aug. 18 on parameters for mandatory climate reporting. These rules will stipulate that public companies, banks and insurance companies with 500 or more employees, more than CHF 200 million ($218.2 million USD) in total assets or more than CHF 40 million ($43.6 million USD) in turnover will need to report climate-related financial risks and also the impact of its business activities on the environment. 

These regulations came about following an initiative launched by the Federal Council in December 2020 for the government to develop a way to implement the recommendation of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) for Swiss companies.

The Federal Council also determined that the disclosures must be “meaningful, comparable and, where possible, forward-looking and scenario-based.”

The Federal Department of Finance now has until summer 2022 to prepare alongside other federal units a consultation draft following these parameters. The first implementation of these requirements is expected to take place from 2024 starting with the 2023 financial year.