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

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Bank Sarasin and sustainable investment

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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

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Our sustainable investment concept

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“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…

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“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

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*ASSET4 is the world's leading provider of comprehensive, integrated and transparent financial and extra-financial information

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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?

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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)

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… 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

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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

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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

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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

Sustainable Swiss Private Banking since 1841.

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