3.4 Sustainability reporting
Under Swiss law, there are three different sustainability reporting obligations:
Reporting on non-financial matters,
Transparency for commodity firms, and
Reporting and due diligence obligations regarding child labor and conflict minerals.
The following points provide an overview of the scope of application and the extent of the transparency obligations:
1 Report on non-financial matters (Art. 964a-964c CO)
Swiss listed companies exceeding certain size criteria and prudentially supervised companies
Reporting on environmental, social and employee matters, human rights, and anti-corruption measures
2 Transparency obligations for commodity firms (Art. 964d-964i CO)
Companies subject to ordinary audits and either directly or indirectly (via controlling interests) active in the extraction of minerals, oil or natural gas, or harvesting of timber in primary forests
Reporting on payments (cash or in kind) to governmental agencies with a value of at least CHF 100,000 (by one-off payment or several payments with an aggregate value)
3 Reporting and due diligence obligations regarding child labor and conflict minerals (Art. 964j-964l CO; DDTrO)
In principle, any company with a registered office, head office, or principal place of business in Switzerland that imports, processes, or offers products containing conflict minerals, or products or services potentially involving child labor; an exemption applies to SMEs and companies with low risk exposure in the area of child labor
Supply chain policy and supply chain traceability system, but no systematic checks of all products or services required
In the context of non-financial reporting, the Federal Council enacted the Ordinance on Climate Reporting (SR 221.434; TCFD Ordinance) on January 1, 2024. This ordinance substantiates the requirements for corporate climate reporting as part of the reporting on environmental matters under Art. 964b para. 1 CO. Particular attention must be paid to the topics outlined in Art. 3 para. 1 a-d of the TCFD Ordinance. In line with the “Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures” of June 2017 and the annex “Implementing the Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures” of October 2021, Art. 3 para. 1 d of the TCFD Ordinance requires the disclosure of Scope 1, Scope 2 and – where appropriate – Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, along with the associated risks.
At its meeting on June 26, 2024, the Federal Council initiated a consultation on amending the provisions relating to sustainability reporting. In response to developments in EU law, which directly or indirectly affect Swiss companies, the Federal Council is proposing stricter reporting rules. In the future, reporting obligations will apply not only to all publicly traded companies but also to any company that meets the proposed lower thresholds.