Menü
We have a long tradition in sustainable investments. We have been dealing with sustainability since 1996.
We aim to make a positive contribution to protecting the climate through our investments and to protect the assets entrusted to us by our investors. That is why we are the first fund provider to commit ourselves to a binding target of reducing CO2 by 4% p.a. in all traditional, active investment funds and we report on this in a transparent manner.
The Paris climate target is a binding goal for all our traditional, active investment funds. Our commitment means we urge companies to devise and implement effective targets for reducing CO2. By the end of 2020, we will also have reduced the number of CO2-intensive companies that have no strategies for cutting CO2 in favour of companies and countries that are effective in terms of their carbon footprint as well as companies that pursue ambitious targets for reducing CO2.
ESG (environment, social and governance) criteria are an integral component of our active investment process. Their systematic integration enables us to identify the risks and opportunities relating to ESG trends at an early stage and create added value for our customers. ESG criteria complement a purely financial analysis and we are convinced that they ultimately lead to better investment decisions. This is why understanding ESG data and developing it further are at the heart of our strategic considerations.
We maintain a blacklist in all our assets under management. In doing so, we rigorously exclude companies that do not comply with international conventions and Swiss laws. This involves business areas such as the development, production, warehousing and distribution of cluster munitions, anti-personnel land mines and nuclear weapons.
As a shareholder and lender, we actively urge all companies to adopt ambitious CO2 reduction targets and to implement them rigorously. We engage in ongoing dialogue with corporate management and are actively involved via the UN PRI Collaboration Platform and various investor initiatives. We exercise our voting rights on the basis of Swiss and international corporate governance regulations as well as the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI). We publish our voting behaviour transparently at swisscanto.com/voting.
Our customers regularly receive detailed reports on their assets in terms of sustainability indicators, which include ESG ratings, carbon footprint and excluded companies.
The Sustainable product line is also a dedicated product range that systematically focuses on returns with social benefits and makes targeted investments in companies that make a significant contribution towards meeting one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) through their sustainable business model.
An external, independent Sustainability Advisory Committee monitors our sustainable investment products, in particular their integration of environmental, social and governance aspects, and our complex sustainable investment processes. The advisory committee is comprised of the following members:
By signing the "European Transparency Code for Sustainability Funds", we, as a Swiss fund manager, confirm our commitment to maintaining transparency towards investors. Eurosif is a union of the national professional associations for sustainable investments at the European level.
The six Principles for Responsible Investment supported by the United Nations are environmental, social and governance criteria relevant to the financial market. Zürcher Kantonalbank was one of the first full-service banks in Europe to sign these six Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2009.
Zürcher Kantonalbank has been a signatory of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) since 2005. The CDP is a non-profit organisation aimed at creating greater transparency with regard to climate-destructive greenhouse gas emissions.
Established in 2014, SSF's mission is to make Switzerland one of the leading centres for sustainable finance. Zürcher Kantonalbank has been a member of Swiss Sustainable Finance since 2015.
Zürcher Kantonalbank is a partner of the Centre for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CCRS) at the University of Zurich and supports the research areas of "Sustainable Real Estate", "Financial Performance" and "Sustainable Corporate Management".
In 2015, Zürcher Kantonalbank was the first Swiss bank to sign the Montréal Carbon Pledge, an investor initiative committed to disclosing the carbon footprint of our equity funds.
Swisscanto Invest has been taking into account the results of the Access to Medicine Index since 2017. This index transparently shows pharmaceutical companies that promote access to medicines.