Embedding sustainability

Shaping a sustainable economy requires dedication, conviction, agility and responsibility – all core values of UBP. This puts us in a unique position to help shape a climate-neutral, resource-efficient and equitable economy by channelling capital towards responsible investments and solutions that create a positive impact alongside stable, long-term returns.

Our rationale

Climate change, biodiversity loss and digitalisation are some of the defining trends shaping the world economy today. Companies must change the way they do business or risk being left behind. It is our job to give our clients advice for the long term by helping them to navigate the risks and opportunities of this changing investment landscape and guiding them in identifying the winners and losers.

At UBP, sustainability is therefore not a stand-alone issue, but an integral part of our business. For almost a decade, we have continually enhanced our expertise and product offering in responsible investment, ensuring environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are increasingly considered throughout our investment universe.

But our responsibility goes further. To provide the best service for the long term, we must help our clients harness the financial potential of the present economic revolution and enable them to align their financial objectives with their values. Put simply, we must guide investments towards innovative sectors and companies that are having a measurable positive impact. UBP stands out as an early pioneer in impact investing, with a solid track record of strategies that generate social and environmental impacts.

Our drive to inspire our clients means we place equal importance on our direct impact through our holistic corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy that encompasses environmental measures and employee well-being, as well as sponsorship and community initiatives.

Our strategy

We have built our sustainability strategy with the understanding that it must reflect this dual role of UBP as both a financial intermediary and a corporate actor. Our strategy therefore rests on two pillars: responsible investment, which channels capital towards investment solutions that offer real potential for financial returns while considering environmental and social aspects, and corporate social responsibility (CSR), which allows us to improve our own environmental and social impact. It includes five focus areas that directly respond to the needs and concerns of our key stakeholders:

The drive to do business responsibly
The drive to move forward with our clients
The drive to protect our environment
The drive to inspire our people
The drive to engage with our communities

“Only by applying environmental, social and governance criteria, not just to our investments but also to ourselves as a bank, can we realise the long-term vision on which UBP is built and make sure that our clients are well-equipped for the financial market conditions of the future.”

Guy de Picciotto, CEO

Our governance

We have a dedicated governance structure that reflects the dual focus of our strategy: the Responsible Investing Committee (RICO) defines, implements and monitors the investment teams’ integration of our responsible investment policy, while the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (CSRCO) develops, applies and supervises UBP’s CSR approach to our own operations. Both committees report to the Executive Committee, demonstrating our determination to put sustainability at the heart of our business model and our investments.

Our objectives

To give us clear purpose and guidance, we have set ourselves ten key objectives to reach between 2021 and 2025, covering both the investment side and our own corporate actions. Each goal has been assigned to an Executive Committee member to create ownership and accountability. We regularly assess progress towards the achievement of the objectives through UBP’s governance framework.