Vontobel Sustainability Report 2022: Our contribution to building a more sustainable economy and society 

In collaboration with the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors last year defined Vontobel’s Sustainability Positioning with six Sustainability Commitments that set out the key levers that Vontobel has to make a contribution in the area of sustainability. The Board of Directors has thus laid the strategic foundations to sharpen the focus of Vontobel’s sustainability engagement from 2023 onwards.

During a strategy workshop, the Board of Directors collaborated with the Executive Committee to determine which of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Vontobel is capable of making a contribution to. This analysis was incorporated into the Sustainability Positioning and was considered when determining and sharpening the focus of the six Sustainability Commitments, which address the following areas of action: CO₂ reduction path; investment solutions; transparency and governance; equality, diversity and inclusion; and community engagement.

Implementation and governance

To oversee their implementation, each Commitment has an “Owner” within the Executive Board. The Commitments are steered through the company-wide Corporate Sustainability Committee (CSC), which comprises all of the Commitment Owners and holds regular meetings. All Client Units and Centers of Excellence work systematically towards realizing the objectives for each Commitment.

ESG Investing: Our ESG Investment Principles

In the area of ESG investing, we focus on active asset management based on a multi-boutique model with independent competence centers, highly specialized investment teams and dedicated ESG analysts. In 2022, we formalized four ESG Investment Principles that our investment teams subscribe to in their work. The implementation of these principles will be measured from 2023 onwards using selected key performance indicators (KPIs). We believe that the consideration of ESG aspects is part of our fiduciary duty, requires investment team accountability, and demands transparency.

Our four ESG Investment Principles are:

1. We incorporate ESG considerations into our investment processes to enable our clients to better achieve their investment objectives.
2. As active managers, we leverage the tools of engagement and voting.
3. Our investment teams are accountable for the application of our ESG Investment Principles.
4. We are committed to transparency through disciplined disclosure, reporting and dialogue with all our stakeholders.

Vontobel Fundraising Initiative 2022

Vontobel has been a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross’ (ICRC) Corporate Support Group since 2005. In the context of this partnership, we made a single donation in April 2022 and carried out our annual fundraising campaign in December 2022 to support people affected by the war in Ukraine.

In our Sustainability Report 2022, we strive to report transparently on our sustainability efforts and achievements, as well as on the road ahead as we work towards our goals.

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