To our stakeholders,

I am pleased to announce that SUSI Partners supports the United Nations Global Compact – a global initiative for businesses that are committed to operate in accordance with ten universally recognized principles in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to integrate the Global Compact and its principles on social and environmental practices into our daily business operations as well as long-term business strategy. We continuously seek to improve our business behaviour and activities to contribute to a more sustainable economy.

This commitment is relevant to every SUSI employee and we will share this information with our stakeholders.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Tobias Reichmuth
Chief Executive Officer of SUSI Partners AG

SUSI Partners is committed to respect human rights. As a confirmation of this committment, the company has developed in 2014 a Human Rights Policy (see Appendix I) guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The company’s Code of Conduct, which details the employee’s rights and defines internal and external professional ethics in daily operations is in the process of reviewing.
SUSI Partners will revise both documents on a continuous basis, to ensure that it is in line with the company’s growth and expansion of activities.
As a Switzerland based company, SUSI Partners must respect Swiss legislations, which have high standards with regard to the rule of law as well as a worldwide commitment to human rights. The Federal Constitution sets certain guidelines for the state to protect in the area of corporate human rights in Switzerland as well as in the context of foreign affairs

SUSI Partners respects human rights in daily business activities. The employees are encouraged to discuss human rights issues encountered to find solutions for future operations. SUSI employees have been made aware of this during staff meetings.
Suggestions by employees concerning work environment quality can be reported directly to the Human Resources Department.
The company’s Human Rights Policy describes in general how human rights should be respected while dealing with clients and business partners.

To date, SUSI Partners has not encountered incidents of human rights violation and has not been subject to any investigations or legal cases related to that.
Every employee is reviewed by the end of the year on his performance by his/her respective manager. During this review the employee’s behaviour in the company and towards stakeholders is reviewed and evaluated.
Due to SUSI Partners’ limited number of employees (33 as of April 2015), an external audit on human rights performance is not required.

SUSI Partners complies to national law and treats its employees in a fair and reasonable manner. All employees are issued with a contract of employment stating clearly their terms and conditions. Within the coming year, SUSI Partners will be publishing and implementing a Code of Conduct and new participative bonus system for its employees.

With its new annual bonus procedures (in review), SUSI Partners will share the company’s results with its employees and foster a sense of ownership among all SUSI employees.
The Code of Conduct – in review – will go beyond compliance with local laws and regulations. All employees will be consulted to finalize the Code of Conduct.
The Compliance Officer and the Risk Manager can independently report problems to the Risk & Compliance Committee composed of members from the Board of Directors.
SUSI Partners communicates effectively with its workers on a continous basis and via its annual company workshop during one weekend which every employee attends. There, changes, achievements and goals of the company are discussed and developed further together. Besides, several company events are organized during the year to strengthen the bonds between staff and top management.

To date, SUSI Partners has not received grievances or complaints from employees with reference to violations of labour rights and has not been involved in any investigations or legal cases concerning labour issues.
By April 2015, the company had 33 employees (26 men, 7 women) from 13 different nations with a wide range of ages. Every employee has annual performance reviews with the top management to evaluate skills and potentials as well as to foster personal development.

SUSI Partners’ core business is focussed on the energy transition based on three pillars: Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Energy Storage. SUSI Partners advises its subsidiary Sustainable Sàrl in the acquisition of exclusively sustainable energy infrastructure projects with a measurable positive impact on the environment. For each project, the amount of CO₂ savings is measured in tons per year (e.g. by producing energy from renewable resources or by implementing energy efficiency measures that reduce energy consumption). In addition to its operational activities, SUSI Partners has implemented measures for its employees to create a more sustainable work environment. One of SUSI Partners’ employees has been determined to promote environmental initiatives in the office.

SUSI Partners analyzes and acquires only projects generating energy from CO₂ –free resources (e.g. wind, sun) and projects improving the energy consumption of existing infrastruture (e.g implemention of LED lighting, waste heat recovery).
Further, SUSI Partners offers a range of sustainability measures for its employees, discussed within the company workshop in October 2014, e.g.:
Urban gardening on the office’s terrace
Free bicycle parking ( in- and outdoor)
Extensive waste recycling in the office
Replacement of coffee machine (beans instead of capsules)
Electricity in office from renewable energy
Climate Credit Card (CO₂ emissions from flights are offset via investments in emission-reduction projects)
Digital marketing material for customers (instead of printed documents)

SUSI Partners saves approx. 600 t CO₂ p.a. per million invested in renewable energy projects and approx. 1’000 t CO₂ p.a. per million invested in energy efficiency measures. Via its subsidiary Sustainable Sàrl, SUSI Partners has been able to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency assets in six European countries – saving 151.000 tons of CO₂- equivalents in total.
All employees apply at least two of the company’s sustainability measures. Only two employees use the car as a transport vehicle to the office.

SUSI Partners is loacted in Zurich, Switzerland and faces therefore lower risks of bribery and corruption. Siwtzerland is ranked among the top countries concerning anti-corruption and bribergy according to the OECD and Tranparency International. To ensure that no corruption should take place while doing business, the company will establish a zero-tolerance policy for corruption and bribe. SUSI Partners’ anti-corruption initiatives will be part of the Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct – being under review – will oblige all employees to avoid bribery or corruption during business activities in Switzerland as well as abroad. To implement the Code of Conduct, all employees will be required to acknowledge their understanding and agreement with the principles as set out by SUSI Partners. Once finalized, all new employees will be introduced to the Code of Conduct through personal introduction.

SUSI Partners has not experienced any cases of corruption or bribery within the last years. No legal case, investigation or other event with reference to bribery or corruption.