​Lombard Odier, Pictet, UBS, Zürcher Kantonalbank, and Baloise have joined forces to call on Swiss companies to align their business models to international standards requiring robust corporate governance and transition strategies towards a climate-neutral economy.

Lombard Odier, Pictet, UBS, Zürcher Kantonalbank, and Baloise have joined forces to call on Swiss companies to align their business models to international standards requiring robust corporate governance and transition strategies towards a climate-neutral economy.The asset managers backed a letter drafted by the Asset Management Association Switzerland (AMAS), with a view to help guide engagement between asset managers and investee companies.In the letter, AMAS mentions international standards including the United Nations Global Compact principles.Companies need to have “highly competent directors with sustainability expertise”, clear compensation practices, and be able to disclose criteria making boards accountable on sustainability grounds.Standards relating to environmental and social aspects include corporate disclosures in line with the International Finance Reporting Standards and integrating recommendations of the Task-Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).Moreover, companies are required to draft decarbonisation strategies and to adopt a just transition approach ensuring the respect of human rights and workers while promoting sustainable developments, according to the letter.The asset managers will check on progress made by Swiss companies to align their business models to the standards specified in the letter on an annual basis, as part of the engagement process, adopting escalating actions, including opposing votes submitted at companies’ shareholder meetings, if the engagement is not successful, it said.It is the first time that Swiss asset managers have drafted an engagement letter to ultimately make companies accountable if they fail to implement transition plans, a spokesperson for AMAS told IPE.AMAS is now calling on all its members to incorporate the standards mentioned in the letter into their engagement practices, it said.Engagement is one of the building blocks of the Swiss Stewardship Code for asset managers and asset owners launched by Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF) and AMAS.In Switzerland, 19.6% of asset managers have already implemented the Code, while 31.6% are considering implementing it, and 47.8% have not yet done so, according to the latest AMAS figures.Large asset managers are able to implement the Code on a larger scale, while others delegate this to organisations such as Ethos Foundation.The latest digital edition of IPE’s magazine is now available