The Swiss government announced the launch of a consultation on a series of new proposals to update its sustainability-related disclosure rules for companies, including a requirement for companies to provide plans to align with Switzerland’s net zero by 2050 climate target, and for climate-related reporting to be based on standards such as the ISSB or the EU’s ESRS.

The proposals would amend Switzerland’s current Ordinance on Climate Disclosures, which came into force this year, with initial climate reporting by large companies beginning in 2025. Under the initial law, large Swiss companies and financial institutions are required to report on climate-related factors including greenhouse gas emissions, climate-related risks and impact, and targets and transition plans, based on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Earlier this year, the Swiss Federal Council announced proposals aimed at aligning its sustainability-related corporate governance rules with international systems, particularly the EU’s CSRD. The proposal also aims to significantly expand the number of companies covered by mandatory sustainability reporting requirements, replacing the current threshold of companies with over 500 employees to companies with 250 employees, CHF 25 million (€26 million) in total assets and CHF 50 million (€52 million) in sales.

In the time since the Ordinance on Climate Disclosures was passed, the TCFD recommendations were broadly incorporated into the requirements of the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standard Board’s (ISSB) climate related disclosure standard, and the ISSB announced that it was taking over responsibility for monitoring progress of companies’ climate-related disclosures from the TCFD.

Under the new proposals, which the Council said was aimed at addressing international developments, companies would be able to meet their climate reporting obligations by aligning their disclosures with an internationally recognised standard such as the ISSB, or the CSRD’s European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

The new proposal would also require companies to provide “net-zero roadmaps” with plans to achieve the goals of Switzerland’s recently passed Climate and Innovation Act, which includes a commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050.

The net zero roadmap requirement includes additional obligations for companies in the financial sector, requiring plans for the alignment of financial flows to facilitate the net zero by 2050 target, including sector-specific science-based interim emissions reduction targets and expansions of climate-friendly technologies.

The proposal would also require companies’ climate reporting to be provided in an electronic format that is human- and machine-readable to enable publication on international platforms.

The new consultation is set to remain open until March 21, 2025, with plans for the amendments to enter into force at the beginning of 2026.