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Sustainable Swiss Private Banking since 1841.
A sustainability analyst‟s view
on CSR reporting
Erol Bilecen Director, Head Client Services Asset Management Presentation at the Lundquist CSR Online Awards Seminar 2011 Venice, October 28, 2011
Agenda
Who is Sarasin?
What does sustainable investing mean to us? What do we need CSR information for?
What a sustainability analyst needs/wishes for – and what he doesn‟t
2
Bank Sarasin and sustainable investment
3
Leading Swiss private bank – founded in 1841
Investment advice and asset manage-ment for private and institutional clients as our core business
Represented at more than 20 locations around the world, in Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East and Asia
Pioneer in sustainable investing
Market leader in Switzerland
What does sustainable investing mean?
Yield
Risk Liquidity
Economy
Environment Society
Magic triangle of investment
Magic triangle of sustainable development
4
Our sustainable investment concept
5
“Sarasin defines Sustainable Management as “the production of goods and services with broad social acceptance using
production methods with a low potential for conflict.”
Reducing risks Seizing opportunities
Sustainability
=
+
Environment
Economy
Society
Sustainable
Investments
Or to put it differently…
6
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you„ll do things differently.”
“Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.”
“It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked.”
How do we (try to) get “the big picture”?
Contract with ASSET4* for customized sustainability data: More than 500 environmental and social indicators on companies
News agencies – Factiva, etc.
Specialist institutions / Non-Governmental Institutions
Specialist literature
Seminars
But the starting point for each analysis
Company Information Sustainability and annual reports, site visits, conference calls
7
*ASSET4 is the world's leading provider of comprehensive, integrated and transparent financial and extra-financial information
8
What CSR research analysts need
In order to evaluate a companies‟ CSR performance,
CSR analysts want to know
Which are the main CSR topics/challenges for the company?
How does the company deal with these?
9
What CSR research analysts like …
Relevant information
Meaningful information …
… in a concise form
Verifiable facts
Externally verified reports
Policies …
… targets …
…initiatives
… results
Standardised, comparable figures
CSR report should be published together with annual report
(or within one month)
10
… and what they don„t like
Details about side lines that are nice but irrelevant
Long responses that mask the actual answer
Standardised answers to individualised questions
Undefined figures
Unclear basis of figures (e.g. are you talking about FTE or headcount?)
Varying basis (e.g. one information relates to the entire group,
another only to part of it)
«I‟m just as wise as formerly.»*
* Source: Goethe, Faust
11
CSR analysts„ reporting requirements
Once a year CSR reporting …
… preferably GRI A+ level …
… can be included in annual report
Ad hoc/on-going information only in important cases
Information that can be documented (e.g. not just web-based report, also PDF)
CSR conference calls or road-shows once a year
A defined contact person …
… with some CSR background
But: «One can report against all GRI indicators and still miss the point.»*
* Source: O. Schmid-Schönbein, E2 Management Consulting
12
Some rules for dealing with requests from sustainability research analysts
Respond to questions
Reply within a week‟s time
Focus on facts, not on marketing
Don‟t protect PDF documents
The more information can be extracted from reporting, the less
questions have to be answered individually
13
What about CSR reporting by small or unlisted companies?
Also small and unlisted companies should report about CSR aspects that are
relevant for their business
Unlisted companies rely on financing through bonds or bank loans. Banks and
bonds investors increasingly demand CSR information
Significant CSR reporting is feasable even with very limited resources
There are examples of small or unlisted companies that have outstanding
sustainability reporting (e.g. Knecht & Müller, a Swiss company with 55
employees)
The target group of sustainability reporting does not only comprise CSR analysts,
but also clients, journalists and (prospective) employees