Addressing climate change

We address the challenge of climate change at various levels. We take into account environmental and climate impacts in our risk management and product development. Our operations have been greenhouse gas neutral since 2010. We also engage with stakeholders to gain insights that can help us develop sustainable business practices.

The Paris Agreement to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change entered into force in 2016. Its overarching objective is to limit the rise in the global temperature to well below 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels. As a global financial institution, we recognize our share of responsibilities in combating climate change, and we acknowledge that financial flows also need to be brought in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. We believe that our role as a financial intermediary is to act as a reliable partner in the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.

We have committed to underpin our 2050 net zero emissions goal through developing Science-Based Targets within 24 months. This will guide our ambition to achieve net zero emissions from our financing no later than 2050, with intermediate emissions goals to be defined for 2030.

We plan to work with the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) to ensure our target strategy is aligned with best practice and we have recently provided input on how to improve carbon offsets to the Taskforce on Voluntary Carbon Markets.

As part of our approach to align our financing with the objective of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5° C we are also establishing technical capabilities to measure the degree of alignment of our portfolio with this objective in more exact terms. This will help us measure not just the direction of travel, but also the speed with which we are moving there.

To complement our own transition we intend to reposition our portfolio to mobilize capital towards our clients’ transitions.

Our principles and our approach to climate protection are set out in our Statement on Climate Change, which describes how we intend to address climate-related risks, provide solutions and advice in the area of sustainable finance to our clients and reduce our own environmental footprint.

Climate Risk Strategy program

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Credit Suisse is committed to becoming a leader in sustainability in the financial industry, across our Wealth Management and Investment Bank franchises, to further drive a cohesive approach and to meet the evolving needs of our clients, investors, employees and society in general. In 2019, we introduced a Group-wide Climate Risk Strategy (CRS) program with a three-pronged approach, integrating our existing efforts as well as defining new measures. Our approach consists of:

Supporting the Transition of Our Clients

Credit Suisse aims to work with its clients to support their transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient business models and to further integrate climate change into our broader risk management procedures.

As part of the Climate Risk Strategy program, we have identified initial priority segments which have a greater potential for adverse climate and associated socio-economic impacts. These include oil and gas, thermal/ metallurgical coal mining, utilities/power generation, ship finance and manufacturing (including cement, steel, chemicals, and automotive). For each of these sectors, we are formulating specific client strategies and assessing the readiness and progress of our clients to transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient business activities. We plan to engage with these clients to understand their transition strategy, including capital expenditure plans and timeframes.

We also continue to integrate climate change into our risk management processes. To assess whether projects or client activities may pose a major risk to the environment, the climate or biodiversity, we apply our Reputational Risk Review Process. Our sector policies and guidelines govern the responsible provision of financial services to clients and define the relevant environmental and social aspects that are to be considered when assessing individual transactions. This includes evaluating factors such as a company's greenhouse gas footprint or its energy efficiency targets, among other things, while some of our policies and guidelines require clients to have a plan in place to deal with climate change risks.

Our policies and guidelines also describe business areas and operational processes that Credit Suisse will not finance. For example, we announced in 2019 that we would no longer provide any form of financing specifically related to the development of new coal-fired power plants. This restriction was introduced in addition to the bank's existing policy of not providing any form of financing that is specifically related to the development of new greenfield thermal coal mines. Moreover, we recently announced that we would no longer provide any financing related to offshore and onshore oil & gas projects in the Arctic region as well as any lending or capital markets underwriting to any company deriving more than 25% of its revenue from thermal coal extraction¹ and to any company deriving more than 25% of its revenue from coal power². For more information, see the summary of our sector policies and guidelines (PDF).

^{1 Direct lending; Unless such transaction is to help the company specifically transition and the use of proceeds are tied to such transition strategies aligned with the Paris Agreement; for greater certainty, these exclusions do not apply to metallurgical coal}
^{2 Direct lending; Unless company can demonstrate decreasing share of coal in generation portfolio consistent with our Energy Transition Framework or such transaction is to help the company specifically transition and the use of proceeds are tied to such transition strategies (and will continue our policy of not financing the development of new coal-fired power plants)}
Providing Sustainable Finance Solutions

Credit Suisse endeavors to deliver sustainable finance solutions that help our clients achieve their goals and make a contribution to the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We would like to be the partner of choice when it comes to supporting clients with capital and advice in their transition to funding investments in new, efficient technologies and production processes as well as low-carbon products and services. Our goal is to provide at least CHF 300 billion of sustainable financing (renewables, green/blue/transition bonds, low-carbon energy solutions and UN SDG-aligned financings) over the next 10 years.

Our Sustainability, Research and Investment Solutions department (SRI), a newly established Executive-Board level function, will accelerate and embed our sustainability efforts throughout the bank. It combines all of Credit Suisse's investment activities in sustainable investing around the globe within one organization, while defining the firm's sustainability strategy relating to these efforts. For more information, see our website on sustainable, thematic and impact investing products and services.

Credit Suisse is engaged in a range of activities which may support the transition to a lower carbon and more climate-resilient economy. Our green finance solutions are designed to achieve a positive impact on the environment while also creating financial value for our clients, drawing upon the expertise of various specialist departments across our divisions.

From 2013 to the end of 2019, we supported the issuance of over USD 30 billion of sustainability-related debt financing products such as green bonds, sustainability bonds, climate action bonds and bonds linked to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals as well as green certificates of deposits and commercial paper. We are also active in the sustainability lending market and during 2019 we participated in a total of over USD 20 billion worth of sustainability-linked loans. We also actively support clean and renewable energy businesses. From 2010 through the end of 2019, we were involved in over 130 transactions in this field with a value of over USD 100 billion.

We also regard sustainability as an essential requirement in the management and development of the properties within our various real estate products. Credit Suisse Global Real Estate's commitment to sustainable real estate is reflected in its investment solutions and its sustainable investment approach to the whole portfolio. Global Real Estate in Credit Suisse Asset Management had over CHF 51 billion of assets under management at end-2019 and a portfolio of more than 1,300 properties across 14 countries.
Reducing Our Operational Carbon Footprint

We have a proven track record of reducing carbon emissions across our operations and travel. We pursue a four-pillar strategy based on operational efficiency improvements, energy-saving investments, the substitution of existing energy sources, and the compensation of remaining emissions. We have reduced our net greenhouse gas emissions by around 70% since 2010, and have been greenhouse gas neutral globally since the same year. In 2019, approximately 90% of the Group’s electricity consumed globally was generated using renewable resources. To further strengthen our commitment to environmental management, Credit Suisse has also introduced environmental objectives for the year 2025, including signing up to the RE100 initiative and committing to source 100% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

For more information, see our websites on greenhouse gas neutrality and environmental management. Environmental performance data for in-house operations can be found here (PDF).

Implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures

The Credit Suisse Climate Risk Strategy program also consolidates our ongoing work to adopt the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) for the voluntary reporting on material risks and opportunities arising from climate change. Credit Suisse continued its TCFD implementation efforts in 2019, following the four TCFD categories of Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets. In that context, we have worked to formalize climate-related governance and definitions in key policies and our risk taxonomy and to define the principles for climate risk strategy and management. We expect our TCFD adoption efforts to provide us with further guidance for the transition to a world that progressively minimizes its dependency on fossil fuels. Moreover, we are working with other banks to develop methodologies for the alignment of credit portfolios with the Paris Agreement. Credit Suisse's Annual Report 2019 provides an overview of the status of our implementation of the TCFD recommendations.

Stakeholder Engagement

Credit Suisse participates actively in discussions on how to promote a more sustainable, climate-friendly approach to business, and we exchange knowledge with a variety of organizations and expert groups.

In 2019, Credit Suisse continued to participate in the dialogue about the development of strategies for sustainable, climate-friendly business practices. In Switzerland, for example, we have hosted the Lifefair Forum event series for a number of years. At the 2019 Lifefair events, experts from the business community, the political arena and NGOs engaged in discussions about sustainability-related topics such as smart climate action, and sustainable logistics and transportation.

Raising employee awareness of environmental issues

The need to make responsible use of natural resources is set out in our Code of Conduct. We actively inform employees about environmental issues and give them the opportunity to make a personal contribution to environmental protection.

Earth Hour campaign

43

Credit Suisse offices

Credit Suisse offices in all regions had their lights switched off for one hour as we again participated in the Earth Hour campaign in 2019.
"Bike-to-work" campaign

136000

kilometers

136,000 kilometers were cycled by 86 employee teams in Switzerland during the "bike-to-work" campaign in 2019.
Regional sustainability networks

3500

employees (approximately)

Approximatey 3,500 employees were part of our regional sustainability networks as of end-2019.
Employee training

17600

Hours

17,600 hours of training with 17,200 participants were conducted together with various service providers on environmental management as well as on health and safety in 2019.