3.4 Sustainability Reporting
Under Swiss law, there are three different sustainability reporting obligations:
Reporting on non-financial matters,
Reporting and due diligence obligations regarding child labor and conflict minerals and
Transparency for commodity firms.
The following points provide an overview of the scope of application and the extent of the reporting obligations:
1 Reporting 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 anticorruption measures
2 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; however, a systematic check of all products or services is not required
3 Transparency obligations for commodity companies (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 logging 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 of at least CHF 100,000)
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. In particular, the areas of governance, strategy, risk management, key figures, and targets must be taken into account (art. 3 para. 1 lit. a-d TCFD Ordinance).
Based on the results of the FDF's mandate to review the rules of the TCFD Ordinance for international comparability and to ensure minimum requirements for the implementation of climate targets by financial companies in accordance with the Climate Change Act, the Federal Council proposed a revision of the ordinance on December 6, 2024. At its meeting on June 25, 2025, the Federal Council decided to temporarily pause the revision. On March 21, 2025, the Federal Council commissioned the FDF to work out possible options for a pragmatic amendment to the legislation on sustainable corporate governance, including the provisions on sustainability reporting in the Swiss Code of Obligations. The outcome of this mandate is the draft bill for the Federal Act on Sustainable Corporate Governance (NUFG), proposed in April 2026. The NUFG aims to strengthen corporate responsibility and sustainability reporting by large companies operating in Switzerland and internationally. It aligns Swiss regulations with key European Union frameworks, including the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Therefore, although the content of the revised TCFD Ordinance was largely welcomed during the consultation process, implementation of the ordinance has again been postponed until the legislative process for the NUFG has been completed and there is clarity regarding these changes.