Projects and Activities
At Credit Suisse, we view the protection of biodiversity as an integral part of our sustainability commitments. Biodiversity-related issues are considered in Credit Suisse's risk management processes, and we cover this topic in our sector-specific policies and guidelines. We also engage with stakeholders on defining ways for the financial industry to contribute to preserving biodiversity and the world's natural habitats. For instance, we have acted as a technical advisor to the Zoological Society of London's Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit (SPOTT) for a number of years, and are part of the Technical Advisory Group for the palm oil and the timber and pulp sectors. SPOTT currently assesses over 200 commodity producers and traders on the public disclosure of their policies, operations and commitments to environmental, social and governance best practices. We also supported the expansion of the SPOTT platform to the natural rubber sector in 2019, and we continue to assist with SPOTT website design and content updates through employee "virtual volunteering" activities. Moreover, we provided support to the High Conservation Value Resource Network (HCVRN) secretariat for the development of a training strategy to improve the quality of High Conservation Value and High Carbon Stock Assessments in the palm oil sector. The HCV Approach helps identify and protect the natural and social values of landscapes in places where there is rapid expansion of agriculture, forestry and aquaculture.