Climate Change Data

Swissquote Group Holding Ltd

Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2023)

Reporting Period: 2023

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:14,930 tCO2e/year
Scope 1 Emissions:79 tCO2e/year
Scope 2 Emissions:66 tCO2e/year
Scope 3 Emissions:14,817 tCO2e/year
Renewable Energy Share:99% of electricity
Total Energy Consumption:3,542 MWh/year
Waste Generated:114 tons/year

ESG Focus Areas

  • Customer experience
  • Financial performance
  • Talent recruitment, development and retention
  • Compensation and benefits
  • Transparency and credibility in the market
  • Business continuity and IT resilience
  • Innovation and access to finance
  • Compliance, governance and ethics
  • Data privacy and security
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion
  • Product governance
  • Prudent investment approach
  • Energy use and climate resilience
  • Protection of human rights
  • Social engagements

Environmental Achievements

  • Improved energy efficiency of headquarters buildings by exceeding the 10% target over 7 years (2016-2023)
  • Reduced CO2 consumption by more than 7 tons per year compared to 2016 (despite growth)
  • Sourced 100% of electricity at Gland headquarters from a Swiss hydraulic source in 2023
  • Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 10% overall and 15% per FTE compared to 2022
  • Increased percentage of digital workflow in client onboarding to 89% in 2023

Social Achievements

  • Achieved highest ever Net Promoter Score (NPS®) in 2023
  • Remained top-of-mind online trading bank in Switzerland
  • Improved customer care service level and response time, especially in Luxembourg
  • Launched a new multi-currency debit card including crypto payments
  • Launched 'Invest Easy,' a simple investment and saving solution
  • Launched a pension solution for Swiss clients (3A Easy)
  • Increased proportion of women active investors from 20% in 2022 to 22% in 2023
  • Ranked as the best employer in the financial industry in the annual survey by Handelszeitung and PME Statista
  • Reached 21st position for most attractive employer in Switzerland for IT students in Universum ranking

Governance Achievements

  • All Board members attended ESG training in early 2023
  • No material non-compliance with applicable laws or regulations in ESG efforts
  • No significant fines or non-monetary sanctions in 2023
  • No legal action for anti-competitive behavior in 2023
  • Improved Refinitiv ESG rating of own investments from B- to B+ between December 2022 and December 2023
  • Integrated more green bonds into portfolio (CHF 46 million at end of 2023)
  • Joined Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) in 2023
  • Launched Lombard loan program rewarding high ESG scores with enhanced pledge value
  • Maintained MSCI ESG rating of AA, a zRating score of 74, and improved Sustainalytics ESG Risk rating from “medium risk” to “low risk”

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed
Medium-term Goals:
  • Increase allocation of own investment in thematic and impact investing by minimum 100% by 2030
  • Achieve net zero scopes 1 and 2 by 2030
Short-term Goals:
  • Complete scope 3 emissions calculation by 2024
  • Measure and disclose GHG emissions associated with loans and investments following PCAF methodology by 2024

Environmental Challenges

  • Sharp increase in incoming calls (+47% compared to 2022), straining customer care service
  • Cyber attack threats
  • Increasingly sophisticated phishing attacks
  • Maintaining compliance with all relevant regulations related to sustainability
  • High competition in the European technology talent market, especially for German-speaking professionals
  • Significant hurdle in recruiting women for technical domains
  • Managing climate-related financial risks and contributing to the transition to a more sustainable economy
Mitigation Strategies
  • Working on solutions to return customer care service to previous levels
  • Embedding security in business processes
  • Updating, strengthening, and extending cyber security playbooks and incident response plans
  • Rolling out new tools (SoCRadar and NetGuardians)
  • Introducing a new “Report Phishing” button in employees’ mailbox
  • Reviewing and aligning data privacy standards with the new Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP)
  • Conducting penetration tests
  • Updating IT security strategy objectives
  • Developing stress management initiatives for employees and managers
  • Establishing the Women in Tech community
  • Collaborating with external partners like “Girls in Tech”
  • Supporting educational initiatives to encourage young girls in technology
  • Participating in diversity-focused events
  • Implementing a climate risk management framework
  • Improving energy efficiency and switching to renewable energy
  • Using Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) / Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs)
  • Completing scope 3 emissions calculation
  • Integrating climate risk into traditional risk management framework

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement
  • Supplier Code of Conduct

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Extreme weather events
  • Changes in weather patterns
Transition Risks
  • Policy changes
  • Technology progress
  • Changes in client demand
  • Regulatory risk from new climate-related regulations
Opportunities
  • Reducing operational footprint
  • Attracting and retaining employees sensitive to climate and sustainability topics
  • Improving offering of innovative ESG products and services
  • Proposing Theme Trading products related to sustainability and Impact investing

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI Standards, TCFD framework

Certifications: Fair-On-Pay

Third-party Assurance: PricewaterhouseCoopers SA

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • ESG tools
  • Theme Trading certificates related to sustainability
  • Impact Investing certificate

Awards & Recognition

  • Newsweek’s “World’s Most Trustworthy Companies 2023” (3rd in financial services category)