Swiss government to draft bill regulating greenwashing
In September 2021, Greenpeace took their campaign against greenwashing to the heart of the Swiss financial centre in Zurich.
Keystone / Alexandra Wey
The Federal Department of Finance (FDF) has said it plans to draft a bill to regulate greenwashing. A draft for consultation should be available by August 2024 at the latest.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Español
es
El Gobierno suizo prepara un proyecto de ley para regular el “lavado verde”
However, the door remains open for the industry, said the finance department. If the financial industry puts forward a form of self-regulation that effectively implements the government’s position, the finance department will refrain from further regulation, it said.
In December 2022, the federal government announced its intention to take action against greenwashing in the financial market. It instructed the finance department to work with other federal agencies and interest groups in a working group to examine how this could be implemented.
The Asset Management Association, the Swiss Bankers Association and the Swiss Insurance Association welcomed the government’s decision. They reject greenwashing in any form, the associations wrote in a joint statement.
The associations have already implemented some self-regulation against greenwashing. “Regardless of any regulatory developments, self-regulations will continue to move forward in the coming years.”
Environmental organisation Greenpeace argues government regulation is imperative. In a statement, it writes: “This is the only way to hold all players in the Swiss financial centre accountable and establish enforceable rights for investors.”
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Doctors Without Borders demands Swiss Gaza clarification
This content was published on
The NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has challenged Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis to explain his controversial Gaza statements.
Data centres use four times more electricity than average
This content was published on
The power consumption of data centres, used in particular for AI, is four times higher than average, warns the International Telecommunication Union.
One in five bee colonies failed to survive Swiss winter
This content was published on
Almost a fifth of bee colonies in Switzerland failed to survive the winter. Losses have been greater than in previous years.
Switzerland condemns deadly attack on UN convoy in Sudan
This content was published on
Switzerland has strongly condemned the deadly attack on a United Nations humanitarian convoy in Sudan. Five people were killed, wrote the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on Platform X.
Most over-65s in Switzerland regularly use the internet
This content was published on
The digital divide is narrowing faster than expected in Switzerland. A study published on Wednesday reveals that nine out of ten over-65s use the internet.
Will Swiss president be forbidden from speaking English to counterparts?
This content was published on
Switzerland's president, Karin Keller-Sutter, should use one of the country's four national languages when communicating with international organisations, and not English, according to a motion that passed on Wednesday.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swisscom, Coca-Cola and others accused of greenwashing
This content was published on
A consumer group has filed complaints against Swisscom, Coca-Cola Switzerland and six other Swiss firms for what it says is illegal greenwashing.
This content was published on
Recent regulatory moves, including in Switzerland, to clamp down on greenwashing in the financial market could end up doing more harm than good.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.