"SME bosses in Switzerland do not wake up in the morning thinking ESG criteria"

For several years, following the creation of the Geneva event Building Bridges, autumn has been conducive to discussions around sustainable finance. In a few weeks, Swiss and international actors will gather to take stock and try to determine how to proceed on a path that is currently rather chaotic.

The overall assessment of 2025 illustrates this quite well: a decline in political support with the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, failure of international negotiations on plastics, COP30 without major progress on fossil fuels or deforestation, and the first notable retreat in sustainable investments after years of continuous growth.

According to some experts, this situation nevertheless had the merit of pushing investors and companies to no longer rely solely on regulatory frameworks, but to focus more on industrial and financial dynamics that are more competitive, efficient and resilient.

It is in this context that we are beginning a new series of interviews devoted to sustainable finance, with the ambition of adopting, in our turn, a more concrete approach and anchoring this notion in on-the-ground realities. What better way to start than to hand the microphone to Marie-Laure Chapatte? CSR Manager at the Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise (BCN), she is in daily direct contact with the entrepreneurs of her canton. Interview.

ESG criteria, sustainable finance, energy transition... Are these topics a source of concern for SMEs whose resources remain limited compared to those of the GAFAM?

An SME does not wake up in the morning thinking "ESG criteria". It rather approaches these questions from an operational and economic angle: energy costs that eat into its margins, a client who asks it for a carbon footprint, or a recruitment that fails because a competitor offers better conditions.

In short, these issues do not currently constitute a clearly expressed priority for SMEs. There is nevertheless a latent pressure, notably within the value chain, that is progressively pushing company leaders to integrate these long-term issues into their decisions.

At the scale of a country or a continent, the energy transition is often presented as an issue of competitiveness and sovereignty, notably in the Draghi report. Do these issues appear at the scale of a local SME?

The Draghi report resonates at the scale of a continent and its transposition to that of a local SME is therefore not easy. However, similar issues can be found. In terms of competitiveness, for example, an SME may be interested in the cost of energy per unit produced. A hotelier or an industrial company that manages to sustainably reduce its energy bill gains resilience and strengthens its competitiveness against its competitors.

In terms of "sovereignty", the term must also be nuanced at the scale of a company. We would rather speak of autonomy or control over its supply. Producing part of its electricity, for example thanks to rooftop solar panels, or securing its costs by diversifying its supply sources helps mitigate the impact of external shocks.

For an SME, is it truly financially wise to invest, in 2026, in the energy and climate transition?

We are currently offering a pilot project as well as an action plan aimed at Neuchâtel SMEs that wish to engage in this transition. Their analysis allows us to identify the most advantageous measures to implement, both financially and in terms of environmental impact. It may seem counterintuitive, but not investing also has a cost in the longer term. A company can, for example, remain exposed to energy price volatility or suffer, in time, a devaluation when reselling its business or its building.

Cantonal banks, in particular, have a mission of regional economic development and integrate sustainability as a guiding principle.

Some of your colleagues believe that the energy transition has entered a new phase, driven more by the deployment of private capital than by public subsidies. Is this bad news for SMEs?

It must be acknowledged that private capital, as you describe it, is increasingly directed toward large sectors, which may no longer need the same level of public support. For SMEs that still have to carry out their transition, however, it remains important to take advantage of existing incentive schemes – subsidies, support or other assistance measures – before a possible tightening of regulations increases the constraints that weigh on them. And in this phase, banks also have a role to play.

Precisely, what role can a cantonal bank like the BCN play in a context of federal budget cuts?

Cantonal banks, in particular, have a mission of regional economic development and integrate sustainability as a guiding principle. A reduction in federal incentives therefore strengthens our role in financing the resilience of the territory. We know our SMEs and, thanks to this proximity, we can support them in their projects, both through banking products dedicated to the transition and through personalized solutions adapted to their needs and realities.

In the current context, should we worry about the future of an energy transition that has already been underway for several years?

Let's say its pace has become more uncertain and that the rhetoric of some leaders sometimes seems disconnected from environmental reality. However, geopolitical tensions at the same time force a rethinking of supply security, while dependence on fossil fuels remains a strategic risk. This applies at the national level, but also to our companies, which must now integrate these new risks into their roadmap and consider ways to reduce their exposure.

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