Embedding sustainability

At UBP, integrating sustainability into our business has become a key endeavour – with respect both to our investments and to our own operations.

Our rationale

Climate change, biodiversity loss, inclusion and digitalisation are some of the defining trends shaping the world economy today. Companies must respond to these challenges 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 of this transformation.

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

At the same time, as a responsible and trusted corporate actor, employer and partner, we place equal importance on continuously improving our direct impact on the environment, our employees and our communities.

Our approach

We have built our sustainability approach with the understanding that it must reflect this dual role of UBP as both a financial intermediary and a corporate actor. Our approach therefore rests on two pillars: responsible investment and corporate social responsibility (CSR). It includes five strategic 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 the environment
The drive to inspire our people
The drive to engage with our communitie

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 approach: 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. Both committees report to the Executive Committee, demonstrating our determination to put sustainability at the heart of our business model and our investments.