Alternative Bank Switzerland wins Swiss Ethics Award
The Swiss Ethics Award was presented for the 9th time on 23 September 2020 by the Swiss Excellence Forum. The award is given to projects that set new ethical standards in the field of business.
For the first time, a bank is awarded the Swiss Ethics Award. Alternative Bank Switzerland (ABS) shows that banking can be successfully conducted with a high level of ethical commitment. The socially and ecologically oriented bank was founded in 1990 and is today supported by over 7500 shareholders. The ABS winning project aims at climate protection and demonstrates the important role of financial flows.
The operation of a bank causes only few direct CO2 emissions. The money flows managed by banks, on the other hand, have a massive impact.
Transparency
The ABS has addressed this issue and shows how climate protection can be applied and implemented in the banking business. In its investment and credit guidelines it has defined exclusion and promotion criteria for areas in which it does not wish to invest. For example, companies that make a significant contribution to climate change are excluded. Industries that are harmful to the climate are excluded. Securities of countries that disregard climate protection and do not commit to international climate targets will not be considered. On the other hand, business areas that enable a positive impact on society and the environment are promoted.
In 2016, ABS became the first Swiss bank to publish the carbon footprint of its investments in 2016, transparently demonstrating how its investment business contributes to a climate-friendly economy. For this extensive commitment to climate protection, the jury presented it with the Swiss Ethics Award.
