> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bordier.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Sustainable investing > How Bordier integrates environmental, social and governance preferences into advice and discretionary management, and the approaches available to clients. Sustainability preferences are part of a Bordier mandate, not an add-on to it. Since January 2023, Swiss Bankers Association guidelines have required ESG preferences to be integrated into investment advice and portfolio management, and Bordier collects each client's preferences as an addendum to their risk profile. Grégoire Bordier, Senior Partner, has put the bank's position this way: > If there can be no sustainable finance without a sustainable real economy, we believe that our Bank, with over 180 years of existence, has a role to play. ## Why preferences are collected Bordier is a member of the Association of Swiss Private Banks, which has set out fourteen priorities for sustainable finance, and it supports the joint sustainable-finance initiative of the Association of Swiss Bank Managers and the Association of Swiss Private Banks. The guidelines that came into force in January 2023 sit within a wider Swiss position. Switzerland ratified the Paris Agreement in October 2017, has set a target of carbon neutrality by 2050, and reaffirmed that commitment in the Climate Act vote of June 2023. The intent is to steer financial flows towards development that limits greenhouse-gas emissions, is resilient to climate change, and preserves biodiversity. For a client, the questionnaire is the mechanism that lets convictions and investment choices line up. The stated preferences are then taken into account when Bordier verifies suitability under the mandate. ## The approaches available Sustainable investing is not one method. Bordier sets out the recognised approaches and what each does. | Approach | What it does | | - | - | | **Exclusion** | Deliberate omission of certain issuers or sectors from the universe. Bordier is explicit that exclusion alone is not a sustainable approach and must be combined with others | | **Best-in-class, or positive screening** | Favours the companies with the best extra-financial rating within their sector, without favouring or excluding any sector against the benchmark. It preserves the benchmark's sector allocation | | **ESG integration** | Sustainability risks and opportunities are built into traditional financial analysis through a systematic process and dedicated research | | **Thematic investment** | Targets environmental and social solutions directly, for example renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture and biodiversity | | **Impact investing** | Seeks a measurable financial return alongside a measurable social or environmental outcome, tracked through key indicators. The most demanding of the approaches | On impact specifically, Bordier's test is that the effect must be **credible, measurable and causal**: direct investment in renewable-energy solutions, or shareholder engagement with an active selection of companies that carry a significant negative effect on climate and biodiversity. ## What ESG covers * **Environment.** The direct and indirect effect of a company on nature, for example emissions and waste management. * **Social.** How a company treats people, inside and outside the business. * **Governance.** How a company is directed, owned and held to account. ## Sponsorship Bordier's commitment also shows up outside the portfolio. The bank sponsored **Under The Pole** between 2018 and 2021, and since 2022 has supported **SolarStratos**, which aims to carry a person into the stratosphere for the first time in an electric aircraft powered entirely by solar energy. ## Related * [How Bordier invests](/solutions/investment-approach), the investment philosophy these preferences sit inside. * [Investment solutions](/solutions/investment-solutions), the asset classes available. General information only. Not investment advice, not a solicitation and not an offer. Sustainable investment approaches, their availability and their regulatory treatment differ by jurisdiction and by client. Speak to your banker about your own circumstances. *Sources: Bordier & Cie client guide, Sustainable preferences; Bordier UK, Our approach to responsible investment, 2026.* This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.