Sustainability issues affect SMEs too

The current reporting obligations on non-financial matters (such as sustainability) are generally only applicable to large-scale enterprises that employ a workforce of over 500 and have a balance sheet total of at least 20 million CHF, or a revenue of 40 million CHF. Specifically, this reporting requirement involves environmental (especially CO2 goals) and social areas, employee issues, human rights and anti-corruption measures. In Switzerland in particular, there is a requirement for the risks associated with child labour and conflict minerals in the supply chain to be identified, measures to be introduced as necessary and reports to be produced.

Swiss SMEs are often not directly affected by these legal requirements, which lulls them into an assumed sense of security. However, this is a dangerous misconception.  Many Swiss SMEs already have a duty to provide more transparency about their sustainability efforts, either because they are customers of banks or insurance companies with a reporting duty, or because they are suppliers to the major corporations who are affected by these requirements. Such businesses analyse their suppliers very carefully to ensure that they fulfil the ESG requirements, and this presents small and medium-sized enterprises with a dilemma. The systems used by major international corporations to certify their own sustainability efforts are often unsuitable for SMEs, or they involve a great deal of work and generate high costs. 

In addition, SMEs are also faced with international regulations if (for example) they sell their goods or services in Europe. In particular, German companies increasingly impose a duty of information upon their suppliers because they themselves have to obey the law on due diligence within their own supply chains. Not only does any violation of the law on due diligence in supply chains involve reputational risks, it can also lead to criminal consequences. If a company fails to complete the questionnaires and evidence regarding its efforts towards sustainability correctly or in full (or if it fails to provide any information at all in this respect) it may even risk being excluded from the supply chain altogether.

CRIF operates its own internationally-recognised Synesgy sustainability platform, which offers a method that is quick and cost-effective for SMEs to present the necessary evidence and transparency regarding their sustainability endeavours. This allows SMEs to gain their all-important proof of sustainability by quickly and efficiently completing a simplified questionnaire. 

CRIF’s internationally-recognised Synesgy sustainability platform offers a cost-effective, quick method for SMEs to present the necessary evidence and transparency regarding their sustainability efforts. This platform allows answers to be logged within the system; once the questionnaire has been completed, it produces an ESG score, which can then be used to display the key indicators graphically. The final evaluation from Synesgy provides the business with a score and a certificate that can be downloaded directly from the platform and integrated into the company’s own website. The Synesgy certificate complies with the internationally-recognised standards and remains valid for one year.