Governance with clearly defined roles

In terms of organisation, BCF has a clear governance structure comprising a Board of Directors, an Executive Board, an Audit and Risk Committee, and a Compensation and Nomination Committee.

The procedures for electing the members of the Board of Directors , their terms of office and their powers are defined in the Law of 22 November 1988 on the Banque Cantonale de Fribourg (LBCF). The composition of the Board of Directors as well as the professional background, education and other mandates of its members, including that of the Chairman, are published on the BCF website and in the Annual Report. The powers assigned to the Board of Directors and its specialised committees are clearly defined and made publicly available. The process for nominating and selecting members of the highest governance body is also formalised and published, ensuring transparency and institutional rigour.

BCF’s strategy is developed jointly by the Executive Board and the Board of Directors, and is then formally approved by the latter. An annual seminar for the Board of Directors provides an opportunity to discuss the Bank’s strategic challenges and priority areas for development in more depth. In addition, an annual self-assessment of the performance of the highest governance body is carried out to increase the transparency and effectiveness of its steering role.

The Audit and Risk Committee oversees the rigorous management and control of the Bank’s risks. Any major concerns are communicated to the Executive Board and the Board of Directors to ensure that decisions are made in an informed and responsive manner.

BCF’s economic, environmental and social (ESG) commitments are clearly defined and integrated into its overall strategy. Stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, government and civil society representatives) are kept transparently informed of the reporting processes related to these commitments.

BCF’s ESG governance is based on clearly defined responsibilities:
– the Board of Directors determines the Bank’s ESG strategy. Since September 2023, Dominique Jordan Perrin has been the ESG advisor. In this role, she oversees the management of environmental, social and governance issues.
– the Executive Board is responsible for the operational implementation of the ESG strategy. It develops sustainable business models and pilots action plans. François Briguet, a member of the extended Executive Board, leads the ESG working group and ensures the consistency of initiatives across the organisation.

The Executive Board has appointed Sandra Galliker as Head of CSR with effect from 1 April 2025. In this strategic role, she will be responsible for managing the ESG working group, overseeing ESG risk analysis and monitoring regulatory developments. She will also represent the Bank on various external committees.

Supported by its Board of Directors, BCF’s Executive Board assumes operational responsibility for economic, social, and environmental measures. In the Sustainability Charter, it defines specific objectives, evaluates their achievement, initiates subsequent measures and ensures that the Bank’s sustainability performance is presented in a transparent manner.

The 2024-2027 Sustainability Charter sets out the principles and objectives relating to the Bank’s products and services, its social responsibility and its commitment to the environment. It also indicates how BCF contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In order to develop its ESG activities and implement concrete measures, the BCF Executive Board set up an ESG working group (ESG WG) in 2003. The ESG WG is chaired by BCF’s Head of ESG.

The members of the ESG WG represent different areas of the Bank: Board of Directors Assistants; Communications; Credit Risk Management; Finance; Real Estate and Logistics; IT and Digital Channels; Legal, Risk and Compliance; Marketing and Social Commitment; Products and Services; Human Resources.

Each member is integrated into sub-groups corresponding to the areas mentioned in the Sustainability Report, namely: Sustainable Products and Services; BCF as an employer; Social commitment; Corporate ecology and climate protection.

The ESG WG meets regularly, at least once a month. For specific issues, ad hoc working groups are set up by the Head of ESG, who organises these meetings as quickly as possible.

Where necessary, parallel projects are launched to ensure that objectives are achieved at an optimal pace. In such cases, an appropriate organisation is put in place, based on the skills required and involving all necessary internal and external stakeholders.

The ESG WG prioritises the actions to be implemented, taking into account stakeholders involved in the business models of BCF activities. To do this, it considers two dimensions of analysis to meet the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI):

– Financial materiality, which assesses the impact of environmental and social issues on the organisation’s economic
performance.
– Impact materiality, which examines the impact of the organisation’s activities on the environment and society.

These two dimensions are cross-referenced to create the double materiality matrix. The horizontal axis reflects the importance of the issues to stakeholders, while the vertical axis reflects the magnitude of the economic, social and environmental impact of BCF’s business model.

The elements to be taken into account in this double materiality matrix include the two set of guidelines issued by the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA):

– Guidelines for Mortgage Providers on the Promotion of Energy Efficiency;
– Guidelines for Financial Service Providers on the Integration of ESG Preferences and ESG Risks and the Prevention of Greenwashing in Investment Advice and Portfolio Management.

These two organisation-wide guidelines highlight the importance of materiality in the areas of advice, training and data, and allow for the definition of indicators.

In 2024, BCF continued its efforts to implement these guidelines to meet the binding transition deadlines set by the SBA. To this end, the Bank engaged with new stakeholders and brought in external service providers specialising in real estate and investments. At the same time, advisors continued their training on ESG issues specific to real estate and investments, with the aim of providing clients with advisory services that comply with the SBA guidelines.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) form the cornerstone of the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN in autumn 2015. They define the environmental, social and governance milestones to be achieved by 2030. Businesses have a key role to play in achieving these goals. Aware of its responsibilities, BCF has laid the necessary foundations to ensure that its sustainability management and core business are optimally aligned with the SDGs.

BCF is fully committed to the United Nations SDGs, which it believes are essential to promoting sustainability on a global scale.

In order to target its actions effectively, the ESG working group (ESG WG) has identified the SDGs on which the Bank’s business model can have a real impact. BCF focuses on eight SDGs: Good Health and Well-Being (3), Quality Education (4), Gender Equality (5), Affordable and Clean Energy (7), Decent Work and Economic Growth (8), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (9), Responsible Consumption and Production (12), and Climate Action (13).