Corporate Responsibility Report
Our report offers an insight into how Credit Suisse assumes its various responsibilities as a bank, as an employer, as well as towards society and environment.
Our corporate responsibility. Objectives and achievements.
Our objectives, and how we delivered. As a bank and an employer, as a part of the economy and society, and for the environment.
Objectives 2019
- Continue our efforts to drive a robust compliance and control culture throughout the bank through targeted measures that take account of the changing operating environment.
- Take steps to address the implications of the UK's decision to leave the EU in order to minimize disruption to the business and to clients.
- Focus on generating capital in order to return it to shareholders; our long-term objective is to distribute around 50% of profits to shareholders for 2019 and 2020.
- Develop methodologies and tools for the alignment of credit portfolios with the Paris Climate Agreement, working with other banks.
- Launch pilot phase to define internal climate risk terminology and measure certain sector exposures against defined climate scenarios.
- Review and further develop Credit Suisse's sector policies and guidelines for sensitive industries.
- Continue to engage with peers and industry groups for the development of environmental and social (E&S) due diligence approaches and the improvement of E&S disclosure.
Objectives & Achievements 2018
| Objectives | Achievements |
|---|---|
Our main priority in 2018 is to maintain strong business momentum while completing our restructuring. Our objectives include:
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We completed our three-year restructuring program, broadly achieving our main strategic objectives by the end of the year. In particular, we:
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| Launch a cross-functional project to start implementing the recommendations released by the Financial Stability Board's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (FSB TCFD) in various workstreams throughout 2018 and 2019 and share experiences in the Forum on Implementation of TCFD Recommendations launched by the Institute of International Finance. | In 2018, Credit Suisse initiated a program with the verall goal of addressing the TCFD recommendations related to external disclosures of climate-linked risks and opportunities. In that context, we updated key policies to incorporate important elements of climate risk management. We established an inventory of our climate risks and opportunities and started a pilot phase to define climate scenarios and impact pathways. We also joined a working group convened by the Institute of International Finance. |
| Roll out and test the recently developed approach to transaction reviews with clients active in sectors with medium sustainability risks. | We developed sustainability risk guidance for corporate banking relationships in sectors with medium sustainability risks, including a set of sustainability questionnaires to evaluate the relevant environmental and social risks. |
Objectives 2019
- After the success of our global initiatives over the last decade and based on our long-running regional efforts, we want to build on our strengths and continuously adapt to changing needs within society. In 2019, we want to further develop our strategy and processes in the area of corporate citizenship in order to identify trends and issues at an early stage and to align our programs with them as effectively as possible. At the same time, we will strive to further optimize our internal resources.
- Continue to engage in an active dialogue with policymakers and regulators in order to ensure the competitiveness and resilience of the financial sector.
Objectives & Achievements 2018
| Objectives | Achievements |
|---|---|
| Contribute to the future development of financial market regulation by providing thought leadership and engaging in a constructive dialogue with stakeholders. | Credit Suisse contributed to a high-level dialogue with Swiss regulators and policymakers in 2018 regarding the introduction of the new Basel III regulations in Switzerland. In particular, we engaged with key policymakers and underscored the importance of ensuring that implementation is harmonized with the approach in other comparable financial centers to ensure a level playing field. We also published the fourth edition of our study on the Swiss financial center. At the international level, we advocated regulatory cooperation to avoid fragmentation of global standards – both through our work in industry associations and through direct interventions. This included holding a conference in Brussels with key officials that included a fact-based report and analysis on the risks and costs of such an approach. |
| We aim to make a lasting, meaningful contribution to society and to continue contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in key areas. To address the most pressing issues facing society, we utilize the bank’s capital – its financial resources, products and services as well as the skills of our employees and our broad network of public and private partners. We aim to develop solutions that benefit society, our employees and Credit Suisse. These efforts include our two global initiatives in the areas of education and financial inclusion, whose tenth anniversaries are taking place in 2018. | We further deepened our cooperation with non-profit organizations (NPOs), governments, employees and clients in order to address major social challenges and work together to contribute to the SDGs. With regard to SDG 4 (Quality Education), more than 2,330 employees dedicated their time and expertise to mentoring, teaching and tutoring activities benefiting children and young people. In addition, through our regional education programs, we have reached more than 184,400 registered school children and young people and helped train more than 4,200 teachers. Moreover, we have engaged in issues such as access to financial services for women, financing humanitarian aid or supporting fintech innovation in developing countries in the context of our Financial Inclusion Initiative. To mark the tenth anniversary of our global initiatives to promote education and financial inclusion, we held three roundtable events in Zurich, London and New York. At these events, we discussed the successes and challenges of the last decade together with our partner organizations and talked about best practice approaches to achieving profound societal changes in the future based on long-term commitments and partnerships. |
Objectives 2019
- Strengthen systematic nurturing and development of diverse talent at Credit Suisse.
- Continue to foster collaboration and development of our leaders.
Objectives & Achievements 2018
| Objectives | Achievements |
|---|---|
| Further strengthen leadership capabilities at Credit Suisse. | In 2018, we reached a 90% completion rate in our Mandatory Management Excellence Program for new managers and have successfully rolled out our first Senior Talent Program for senior leaders at Credit Suisse. |
| Continue to embed the Conduct and Ethics Standards to ensure a common understanding of our expectations at Credit Suisse regarding culture and conduct. | One year after the introduction of the Conduct and Ethics Standards, we have established a solid baseline of awareness among our employees regarding our expectations in terms of conduct and behavior. The move to a single behavioral framework has allowed us to embed those standards in our core employee lifecycle processes, thus reinforcing the importance of positive conduct for Credit Suisse. A measurement framework has also been developed and will enable each of our divisional and function heads to effectively self-assess their Conduct and Ethics environment, ensuring continuous improvement. Additionally, in 2018 we appointed a conduct and ethics ombudsperson within Credit Suisse who serves as an immediate point of escalation for any potential sexual harassment issues. |
Objectives 2019
- Continue support for sustainable soft commodities, including industry standards, peer collaboration, client advisory and disclosure.
- Maintenance and further development of our ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) including continous improvements in our environmental performance.
- Ensure a successful global ISO 14001 control audit under the direction of the certification company SGS.
- Continue to increase the green power share of electricity consumed in our operations.
- Further strengthen the strategy for managing the Group's operational footprint, including consideration of multi-year environmental targets.
Objectives & Achievements 2018
| Objectives | Achivements |
|---|---|
| Successful completion of the audit of our certified environmental management system in the framework of the transition to the new ISO 14001:2015 standard. Successful global re-certification in compliance with the new ISO 14001 standard. | We successfully passed the recertification audits according to the new ISO 14001:2015 Standard under the direction of the certification company SGS. |
| Continued global greenhouse gas neutrality. | In 2018, we achieved global greenhouse gas neutrality for the ninth year in succession. In that context, we were able to further reduce our global greenhouse gas emissions from operating activities by 5% to 129,100 metric tons of CO2 equivalents compared to the previous year – thanks to ongoing energy-related optimizations of our properties, the further consolidation of our building portfolio, with a focus on properties with high energy efficiency, as well as through the use of state-of-the-art IT infrastructure and an increase in climate-friendly energy sources. Thanks to the substitution of existing energy sources through renewable energy certificates (RECs), we were able to further increase the share of electricity from renewable energy sources to 79%. |
| Develop and implement a framework for long-term objectives aiming to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and to contribute to the overarching goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit the rise in the global temperature to well below 2º Celsius above pre-industrial levels. | We comprehensively reviewed our sustainability strategy for our operational processes and revised it, taking into account international efforts in the fight against climate change as well as best-practice developments for target-setting in environmental management. |
| Further expand engagement and advisory services related to sustainable land use. | We continued our engagement with the Zoological Society of London on soft commodities by contributing to the review of the rubber sector standards and the development of a roadmap. |