Until today, there was no reliable and intelligent technical solution that operates a "real" emergency detection at home and at the same time serves the needs across generations. With the SAFE-living solution, Sedimentum enables seniors to extend the period of their lives in their own homes while providing digital support and relief to family members. The emergency call detectors come completely without wearing a wristband or pressing an emergency button and function without a camera or sound recording. The non-contact emergency call solution automatically summons help not only in the event of a fall, but also for other potential emergencies. This is intended to create a safer living space for residents.

Innovation completely "Swiss Made

"We regularly receive inquiries from our neighboring countries, but also from the U.S. and even Asia," explains CEO and founder Sandro Cilurzo. That's why the startup hopes its product will find favor at CES. "We are very excited to be at CES 2023 in the Swisstech Pavilion and to present our solution to the world," says Cilurzo. The smart home emergency call detectors are developed as well as manufactured in Switzerland and are also ready for international use. Based on sophisticated AI technology and specially developed sensors, the emergency detectors measure movement and send an alarm to Sedimentum's emergency call center in the event of an emergency. The emergency detectors are installed by Sedimentum on the ceiling and work contactless as well as automated, and this without camera or microphone.

With emergency call solution at the Consumer Electronics Show

The startup from Cham is now presenting its emergency call solution, which consists of a contactless emergency detector, an app and an alert to the 24/7 emergency call center, at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. The company is participating in the Swisstech Pavilion, organized by Switzerland Global Enterprise in collaboration with EDA Presence Switzerland, Presence Switzerland and Innosuisse. Over the past 50 years, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has established itself as the global showcase for innovations and groundbreaking technologies in the entertainment and electronics industries. This is where tomorrow's innovations meet the market, investors and experts. CES 2023 in Las Vegas is the international stage for well-known brands as well as for emerging start-ups and the meeting point of the tech industry. Sedimentum is therefore one of a handful of select and promising Swiss start-ups that will be allowed to exhibit at CES 2023.

Source: Sedimentum

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/startup-aus-cham-erobert-mit-notrufloesung-die-usa/

The Raiffeisen.ch website is visited more than 37 million times a year. However, customer needs are increasingly changing with digitization: simple, intuitive, and fast solutions are in demand. In addition, new brand design requirements arose with the brand refresh of the Raiffeisen brand in 2021 (Werbewoche.ch reported). The web relaunch was to take these circumstances into account and create a modern customer experience.

The new website comes with a simple, focused design. The visual language is clear and the content to the point. Raiffeisen's new color scheme is now also present on the website: red, black and white are used as primary colors throughout. The selective use of large typography is intended to create visual variety.

User-centric concept, optimized customer experience

With the relaunch, Raiffeisen is not only adapting the look of the website, but is also reorganizing its content in stages. A user-centric concept reduces the content to the essentials and is designed to address the needs of Raiffeisen customers in a targeted and individualized manner. "With our new access concept, we want to make it easier to experience the variety of high-quality content that we have on Raiffeisen.ch today," explains Laure Frank, Head of Digital Business at Raiffeisen.

Interdisciplinary teamwork and step-by-step implementation

The preparatory work already started at the end of 2021. An agile organization is essential when relaunching a website. In addition, individual Raiffeisen banks were continuously involved in the development process and prototypes were tested with customers to ensure that the website was optimally aligned with customer and market needs.

After a comprehensive analysis, Raiffeisen launched the website development at the beginning of 2022 in collaboration with partner Cognizant Netcentric. The staged implementation of the redesign is the first step towards Raiffeisen's new customer experience. In order to introduce the new access concept on a broad scale, a revision of all content on Raiffeisen.ch is pending, which will be successively tackled in the course of 2023.

The new website is open to the general public with immediate effect. Feedback from visitors will be actively collected and communicated to the Raiffeisen team in the coming days.

Responsible at Raiffeisen Switzerland: Laure Frank (Head of Digital Business), Katharina Hohmann (Head of Web & Content), Beatrice Scarpelli (Project Manager and Product Owner Raiffeisen.ch).

Singles Day, Black Friday and the like are over - but what ended up in Swiss shoppers' baskets? Microspot.ch investigated this and found out: The German-speaking Swiss generally enjoyed the campaign days more than the other language regions of Switzerland.

Almost 80 percent of all orders came from households in German-speaking Switzerland. The most expensive shoppers were those in Zug, while the least expensive were those in Appenzell Innerrhoden. On average, Zug residents spent over CHF 70 more than Appenzell residents. What united all regions of Switzerland, however, was the enormous demand for diapers. They landed in the shopping baskets the most over the campaign days. Almost five times the amount of a normal week was sold in wet wipes and diapers in all sizes. Only more popular than diapers among men were headphones. Otherwise, men mainly shopped for the Seven25 annual public transport subscription, lighting accessories such as Philips Hue and smartphones. After diapers and the Seven25 subscription, women also bought headphones, smartphones and Lego.

care4IT.ch ensures that SMEs and organizations with up to 50 computer users on average in the greater Zurich area can run their core business more competitively with modern and up-to-date IT infrastructure. Now the IT company, itself an SME, has launched a ISO 27001 certified Information Security Management System developed. The project lasted two years and involved the entire staff. With a staff of 20 employees, care4IT.ch is a rare exception, as otherwise only medium-sized and large IT companies with 50-100 employees have ISO 27001. When asked about the added value of a complex management system for data protection and data security in an IT service company, Matthias Naber, CTO and co-owner, sums it up dryly: "Actually, every IT service provider needs it"!

High benefit for customers and for care4IT.ch

During the system setup, the entire care4IT.ch team was regularly trained, backup and various protection solutions were designed and implemented, and all the necessary conditions were created to ensure that the intended security standards could be reliably met.

The concrete added value of ISO 27001 in the IT company can be localized in three areas of benefit. First, the certified information security management system supports the "blind" trust and gut feeling of customers with a tested and clearly defined security rating. Secondly, a broad and deep expertise in data and information security and data protection is built up throughout the company, which is automatically reflected in the customer's IT infrastructures and positively influences their quality. And thirdly, an "information security system light" can be built up during the project, as a kind of waste product, which can be used directly by customers as a paid service to create added value.

Competitive position improved

Care4IT.ch has made use of all three benefits. At the same time, the certificate improves Care4IT.ch's competitive position with customers who have more than 100 IT workstations, as they often attach above-average importance to certified quality. Last but not least, it strengthens the necessary differentiation of care4IT.ch from its competitors and provides it with a strong marketing tool.

The "all from one source" offer of care4IT.ch includes IT consulting, conception and planning as well as realization of complete IT infrastructure solutions for data, voice and video. The on premise and cloud infrastructures put into operation are monitored by means of real-time monitoring, maintained and replaced if necessary. This 24/7 support with guaranteed response times ensures uninterrupted operation. Thanks to a "flat rate" and a clear price structure, operating costs can be calculated and budgeted at any time.

Source and further information: care4IT.ch GmbH

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/kmu-entwickelt-iso-27001-zertifiziertes-information-security-management-system/

Higher energy prices and inflation do not appear to have a direct impact on the amount Swiss consumers spend on Christmas gifts. This is shown by a new study conducted by the audit and consulting firm EY in Switzerland. The study is based on a representative survey of more than 400 adult consumers in Switzerland, conducted at the end of November 2022. The survey period also covers Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

According to the survey, the budgets mentioned even rise to a new high: respondents intend to spend an average of 343 Swiss francs. This represents a 3 percent increase on the record figure achieved in the previous year (2021: 334 Swiss francs). What is remarkable here is that this increase is primarily attributable to the men surveyed. At 375 francs, they intend to spend significantly more on gifts than last year (2021: 351 francs). Meanwhile, women intend to spend 309 francs less than last year (2021: 320 francs).

More than 250 francs for gifts

However, these figures are only partly reflected when consumers are asked about their intentions: A majority of 62 percent want to reduce spending - 41 percent of them "slightly" and 21 percent even "significantly." The remaining 38 percent do not intend to change their consumer behavior - at least for this Christmas.

53 percent of respondents (previous year: 50 percent) are planning a budget of more than CHF 250 for Christmas shopping this year; one in five is even planning on a gift budget of more than CHF 500. Only 15 percent are planning on smaller Christmas budgets of up to 100 francs, according to the latest EY survey. A detailed look at Christmas budgets shows that 18 percent of the Swiss consumers surveyed expect to spend between 301 and 500 francs. In each case, 16 percent plan to spend between 251 and 300 francs and between 101 and 200 francs. Only 6 percent will spend less than 50 francs on Christmas gifts and 5 percent say they expect to spend over 1,000 francs.

Gift vouchers and money

The most frequently mentioned gift category this year is "gift certificates and money" with 41 percent (2021: 32 percent). They take over from last year's frontrunners, both of which have seen a very significant drop in popularity: "clothing" drops from 41 percent last year to 29 percent this year, and "cosmetics" are still mentioned by 22 percent this year (2021: 41 percent). The named top spenders for this Christmas continue to include "Toys" (38 percent), "Food and Confectionery" (34 percent), "Pressed Books" (33 percent), and "Event and Event Attendance" (19 percent) and "Jewelry" (17 percent). Consumers in Switzerland are investing by far the highest sums in "gift vouchers" this year: at an average of CHF 62, they want to spend an average of CHF 13 more on these than on "toys" and even twice as much as on "clothing".

Around 60 percent of consumers in Switzerland say that sustainability aspects play a minor role for them this year when giving gifts and celebrating Christmas (previous year: 75 percent), and for 12 percent of consumers they even say they play a major role (previous year: 24 percent). Women take sustainability aspects into account significantly more often than men: for 65 percent of women, sustainability plays a role, compared with 53 percent of men. In terms of where and how people store, online shopping is continuing its success story. While a market share of 33 percent was expected last year, this year it is 38 percent.

For IT security awareness in companies, there is no ready-made standard kit that you purchase once, install and update from time to time. IT security must be understood as a process that must be continually adapted to changing conditions. Engineering and technologies (such as AI) help with this. At the end of the IT usage chain, however, is the human being, who carries out his or her activities with the help of computers and devices. And this is where IT security becomes vulnerable. Because the human factor always plays a decisive role when it comes to vulnerabilities.

But how do company managements in Germany, Austria and Switzerland view this? Do they trust their employees to recognize a phishing email that looks deceptively real? Do they surf via the company VPN during their breaks in the home office, thus endangering the company's IT? How high is IT security awareness among the workforce? Sophos wanted to know this, among other things, from senior and higher managers (C-level) in the three German-speaking countries. On behalf of Sophos, the opinion research institute Ipsos surveyed around 200 managers from the retail, services and manufacturing sectors. The survey was graded according to the German system, i.e. the top grade in each case is a 1.

Scores for IT security awareness: German bosses 2, employees 3

Across all industries, German managers attest themselves a very high (35.3 percent) to high (46.3 percent) awareness of IT security. Company size certainly plays a role in self-assessment: in larger companies (200 employees and more), 30.2 percent of managers give themselves a grade of 1, while the figure for smaller companies (50-199 employees) is 37.2 percent. If we compare the sectors, it is particularly the retail sector where 38.7 percent of managers believe they have a very high awareness of IT security.

German managers are somewhat stricter when it comes to assessing their teams: the majority (41.8 percent) only give them a grade of 3 - Satisfactory. The highest marks for employees were awarded by bosses from the service sector (11 percent). Here, too, the size of the company plays a role in the assessment: bosses of up to 199 employees consider the safety awareness of their workforce to be very high, with 10.8 percent. Managers at companies with over 200 employees give the top score to only 5.7 percent of their workforce. They even give the grade 5 to 3.8 percent, while smaller companies only attribute such a low level of IT security awareness to 0.7 percent of their employees.

Managers of large Austrian companies more often give themselves and their staff a 1

By contrast, the picture is somewhat different in Austria. While, as in Germany, the majority (45.3 percent) also give their staff a 3, the proportion of top marks is higher overall than in Germany: here, 13.2 percent give their teams a straight 1 in the area of cyber awareness. And while in Germany the larger companies have a more critical assessment, in the Alpine republic it is the other way around: 17.6 percent of companies with more than 200 employees give them a 1 or 2 in security awareness.

At 41.5 percent, Austrian managers attest to a very high level of IT security awareness, while 39.6 percent attest to a high level of IT security awareness - better than the self-assessments of German managers. Similar assessment ratios can be seen when looking at company sizes: In large companies, 52.9 percent of managers rate themselves with a 1, while in smaller companies the figure is 36.1 percent.

Swiss managers give themselves a 2, employees a 2-3

The safety awareness of management in Switzerland is rated at the highest average of 45.1 percent with a score of 2. A little more in smaller companies (46.9 percent) and a little less in large companies (42.1 percent). The highest grade is awarded by 39.2 percent of Swiss bosses (47.4 percent in the manufacturing sector). Large companies give themselves a 1 and a 2 with the same rating (42.1 percent each).

35.3 percent of Swiss decision-makers (26.3 percent in large companies, 40.6 percent in smaller ones) rate the safety awareness of their employees as 3 and thus satisfactory. Larger companies give their staff an even 2 (36.8 percent, average 29.4 percent).

Training as the most important additional safety measure

For every second company in Germany, employee training is the most important measure for improving cybersecurity in the company. The majority of companies are aware that people are a critical factor in cybersecurity. When asked what measures the decision-makers in their companies are taking for their cybersecurity, employee training has been in first place for at least two or three years, at 55.7 percent. The manufacturing sector in Germany has been particularly committed to training for several years, at 64.6 percent, while the majority of the retail sector has only been training its teams in this regard for about a year (41.9 percent).

In neighboring Austria, bosses have also been investing in their employees' safety skills for at least two or three years as the most important of their protective measures, at 64.4 percent. In retail, this figure is lowest at 44.4 percent. Around one in five companies has been holding employee training courses for just one year (20.8 percent). Again, there is a stark difference between manufacturing (27.8 percent) and retail (11.1 percent), with retail reporting that 33.3 percent plan to do so.

The Swiss also see workforce training as the most important measure for improving cyber security, with 66.7 percent in first place, and have been doing this for at least two or three years. The Swiss manufacturing sector is well above average here at 84.2 percent, while retail is well below at 37.5 percent and service providers are close to average at 62.5 percent. Company size is not a decisive parameter in Switzerland and deviates only marginally from the average.

Summa Summarum: Satisfactory IT security awareness probably acceptable

Overall and across all three countries, the executives in Germany, Austria and Switzerland attest to a fundamentally positive and responsible approach to IT security on the part of themselves and their teams - although there is still room for improvement. The Austrian example stands out positively, with a more benevolent approach to itself and its employees, while company management continues to maintain awareness with regular training.

The bosses in Germany and Switzerland have a very similar opinion of themselves and their employees. Team training has also been one of the most important security measures for years; Switzerland even records the highest value here, while just like in Germany, it only gives the workforce a satisfactory rating in their IT security awareness. There may be several reasons for this discrepancy between capability attribution and training - perhaps the training is not yet as efficient as hoped, or a longer training phase is needed. Perhaps, after years of training in many cases, a "satisfactory" must be accepted for the time being as sufficient awareness of enterprise IT security - especially in light of increasingly tricky attack tactics such as phishing emails or social engineering. In any case, training is and will remain a very important building block for corporate IT security. Bosses are aware of the vulnerability of people in the system and show commitment to improving it with appropriate measures.

Source: Sophos

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/so-bewerten-chefs-das-it-sicherheitsbewusstsein-ihrer-mitarbeitenden/

In collaboration with illustrator Jaron Gyger and FHGR spin-off Chilyvent, Furrerhugi has revised the key visual and the Züri-Leu for Züri Fäscht 2023. Since Thursday, the new look has been creating anticipation for the upcoming festival. With the skyline of Zurich and Lake Zurich, the key visual is based on the tradition of the Züri Fäscht as a lake night festival.

Color mane, joyful laughter

With his colorful mane and the joy he radiates, the new Züri-Leu embodies the departure into the future and the diversity of the Züri Fäscht. For this purpose, the illustration was refreshed and based on emoticons. The Züri-Leu can now not only roar, but also wink at the visitors. the website and the social media channels as well.

Focus on sustainability

The Züri Fäscht is also breaking new ground in the area of sustainability, and in 2023 will be implementing a Sustainability concept um. This was developed with the involvement of municipal and private organizations. The sustainability strategy focuses on long-term goals and works step by step to achieve them. Waste is to be reduced by 50 percent with the new concept.

In addition, the final phase of sponsorship has begun. However, there are still opportunities for companies to present themselves on interesting topics such as family, sustainability or waste disposal at Züri Fäscht.

Responsible at Züri Fäscht: Jeannette Herzog (Business Manager). Responsible at Furrerhugi: Andreas Hugi (Mandate Management), Sonja Glauser-Rychener (Art Direction), Patrick Blaser (Consulting), Sarah Bünter (Consulting). Illustration: Jaron Gyger. Animation: Philip Zurmühle (Chilyvent).

In the current, saturated digital ecosystem, attention is a crucial factor. To capture consumer attention, creativity is key. A current Study Shows that advertisers can increase awareness of their ads by 49 percent by optimizing them for the environment they are in (Werbewoche.ch reported).

The "Teads Attention Program" is designed to enable brands to optimize multi-screen reporting of attention in Teads Ad Manager. By integrating Lumen and Adelaide, two attention measurement providers, as well as eye-tracking and neuromarketing study provider Realeyes, Teads is building a toolkit to enable advertisers to increase effectiveness and business success.

Investigations of Dentsu International have shown that the measurement of attention is three times better at predicting results than viewability. Gradually, then, attention is becoming more important. Advertisers are now able to overcome some of the key challenges they have had in terms of ad spend. But to do so, Teads says they need to evolve and prioritize attention metrics in terms of buying, planning as well as measuring campaigns.

Creativity as a driving force

Creativity is needed to attract and retain the attention of consumers. Its importance for digital advertising is indisputable. According to studies, there is a difference of up to 17 percent in brand recall between good and bad creations. It has also been shown that about two-thirds of media effectiveness depends on creativity.

Advertisers also need to consider the context of ads as well as creativity. Placing ads around relevant content increases awareness while providing a better overall experience for consumers.

Positive UX influences attention

The user experience of a website also has a significant impact on attention. Users are more receptive to ads that are presented in a high-quality, non-cluttered environment. A larger, better thought-out ad has a much more lasting effect on memory than several small ads.

Consumers welcome having their attention captured rather than being forced to consume advertising. Voluntarily consumed advertising has a more positive impact on brand loyalty metrics - regardless of how long the consumer watches the ad.

Cooperation between Teads, KHC and Dentsu International

Teads' cooperation with KHC and Dentsu International, launched by KHC media agency Carat, is to further develop the "Teads Attention Program"". To this end, Teads and Carat are using the attention model developed by Dentsu with Lumen to measure the attention of the advertising target group.

Over a six-month period, this will gather and document key insights and understandings about the drivers and metrics of awareness for KHC's products. These new metrics will enable KHC to better and more sustainably optimize digital performance for future campaigns.

At its meeting on November 24, 2022, the Board of Trustees of the Health Insurance Ombudsman's Office settled the succession of the previous Managing Director of the Ombudsman's Office in Lucerne, Ms. Morena Hostettler Socha, who is taking well-deserved retirement. In doing so, the Board of Trustees has elected Mrs. Susanne Müller Ineichen, born 1968, from Rothenburg (LU), as the new ombudswoman. Ms. Müller Ineichen is a lawyer and has been with the ombudsman's office since February 2019. At the beginning of 2021, Ms. Müller Ineichen was elected deputy to the previous post holder. She will take up her position as the new executive director on August 1, 2023.

The main task of the Ombudsman Foundation is to resolve misunderstandings between insured persons and insurers and to mediate solutions in the event of disagreements. Its jurisdiction extends to both the compulsory health insurance (OKP) and the supplementary medical expenses and daily sickness allowance insurances operated by the health insurers of their partner companies. The aim of its activities is to assist insured persons free of charge and in an unbureaucratic manner in solving their problems with insurers and to avoid legal proceedings. The ombudsman's office is active throughout Switzerland.

The designated new Managing Director Susanne Müller Ineichen worked as a clerk at the District Court of Lucerne and the Administrative Court of the Canton of Lucerne after completing her studies and training as a lawyer. Subsequently, she worked for several years in the legal services of Concordia Health Insurance, SUVA and CSS Health Insurance. One focus of her work was the area of data protection. In addition to numerous further training courses, Ms. Müller Ineichen also completed the health insurance specialist course of santésuisse and obtained the corresponding professional certificate in 2021.

Source: Health Insurance Ombudsman Office

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/ombudsstelle-krankenversicherung-susanne-mueller-ineichen-neue-geschaeftsfuehrerin/

In its just-released 2022 report, the Global ESG Monitor (GEM) looks at the environmental, social and governance reporting of 350 of the world's most important companies. GEM is the international leader in analyzing ESG reporting transparency and publishes a comprehensive annual report that analyzes non-financial reporting in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. "2022 was a year in which the importance of ESG issues increased dramatically," said Michael Diegelmann, co-founder of the GEM. "Environmental and social crises fill the news daily, and companies need to clearly communicate what they are doing and how they are managing their efforts. Progress is being made, but the bottom line is that too many large multinational companies are still inadequate in their ESG reporting. This will not go unnoticed by investors and the public."

Global ESG reporting in focus

For the GEM 2022, 625 ESG reports from 350 companies represented in indices of ten major stock exchanges were analyzed. Comprehensive reports on the individual regions will be published over the coming weeks. At the end of November, the global GEM report was published, covering the four main continental stock market indices from Europe, the USA, Asia and Australia, such as EuroSTOXX), S&P 50 orASX 50 (Australia).

Only a few companies came close to the top score of 100 on the rating scale of the so-called "rating scale". GEM Assay, the Global ESG Monitor's proprietary analysis model. The highest score worldwide for transparency in non-financial reporting was 90, the lowest 7 points. The GEM Assay uses 184 criteria to analyze corporate ESG reporting. ESG reporting is used in a variety of ways, including as a factor in rating agencies' ESG scores, which are used by investors to guide investment decisions. 

Comparing the transparency of ESG reporting across continents, the average score for companies in Europe is 66 out of 100, followed by 56 points in Asia and 53 points each in the U.S. and Australia. 

European companies lead the way

"It is no surprise that the GEM finds such wide variations in reporting transparency across countries and regions. There is still no single, internationally recognized standard in ESG reporting, and this poses challenges for companies," said Ariane Hofstetter, GEM Co-Founder and Head of Research and Data Science. "Even though important analytical tools such as materiality analysis are widely used, the result is often overshadowed by window dressing and a low level of traceability and commitment."

The survey clearly shows that European companies are setting the pace in ESG transparency worldwide, with eight of the top ten companies coming from Europe and two from Asia. The company with the highest overall score and thus the most transparent ESG report was the Italian energy company Enel SpA.

The GEM Top Ten

The biggest shortcomings in ESG reporting

The GEM identifies deficits in ESG reporting in various areas. These include, for example, gender diversity on boards of directors and supervisory boards. Here, it was shown that the greatest gender diversity exists in the USA, for example. There, 90 percent of companies have mixed boards. The average ratio of women to men on management boards is most balanced in Europe, at 50 percent in each case, while in the USA and Australia, for example, only a third of board members are women. 

Climate targets are also being achieved differently by global companies: many of the companies analyzed in the GEM have addressed CO2 emissions. But only a limited number of the companies analyzed are already carbon neutral. Most companies have set carbon neutrality targets and aim to achieve net zero in the future. The largest share of companies claiming to be CO2 neutral is found among the S&P 50 in Asia, the lowest in Europe.

Other problem areas that are assessed differently around the world: Many ESG reports still leave supply chains in the dark. In Europe, slightly more than half of the companies disclose at least the geographic location of their suppliers; in Asia, the USA and Australia, in some cases less than a third of listed companies do so. And statements about child and forced labor continue to raise questions. While 72 % of EuroSTOXX companies disclose child, forced or compulsory labor risk in their ESG reporting, only 54 % from the US, 51 % from Asia and 36 % from Australia do so. And it gets worse: In Europe, 60 % of companies disclose strategies to eliminate forced and child labor and other forms of exploitation. In the U.S. (27 %), Asia (27 %) and Australia (26 %), the figure is less than a third each.

Lack of international standards in ESG reporting

According to GEM 2022, 96 % of companies in the global sample refer to frameworks and standards in their reports, with an average of 9.1 frameworks mentioned. In the EuroSTOXX, an average of 12.3 frameworks are mentioned. Some companies place too much emphasis on frameworks and publish separate reports specifically tailored to individual standards. For investors and other stakeholders, orientation is difficult and there is a risk that companies select the frameworks with the most favorable requirements for them.

Final examinations are also not yet mandatory or common. Such audits should actually promote trust and reliability. But only 68 % of companies voluntarily provide assurance on their disclosures through a financial statement audit. A limited assurance audit is still the most common (88 of the 353 audited reports indicate the depth of the audit).

European companies are increasingly preparing for an external audit. With its legislative proposal of the Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the European Commission is introducing an EU-wide duty to audit sustainability information with limited assurance. In perspective, this is to transition to a reasonable assurance audit requirement.

Source: Global ESG Monitor

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/esg-berichterstattung-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

Rarely, if ever, has SC Bern turned so many screws in the course of a season. Republica was able to influence this communicative change process on many levels: From the brand and its values to the new home dress and the SCB identity in the stadium catacombs to the pre-game show and the current campaign to present the SCB OOH and online in full authenticity.

Once SCB, always SCB

For a good fourteen years now, the slogan has been "The SCB gets under your skin - 24/7". This perpetual approach was reactivated, reinterpreted and expanded in the truest sense as part of the brand sharpening. The result is the new brand claim "Always & Forever". Those who once belong to the SCB community should be well entertained, enthusiastic and rewarded with as many successes as possible for the rest of their lives.

Winged and winged word pairs

The new claim is introduced with a campaign that also uses familiar word pairs such as "hat & hair", "harrow & edge" or "head & shoulders" - with the message that the SCB is, does and brings more than just that.

Together with the images of Bernese photographer Rob Lewis, the campaign visualizes the entire SCB cosmos, from players to staff members to fans. They are snapshots in reportage style, without incidental vegetables, without frippery and based on the club values of honesty, authenticity, dynamism and will. The entire wealth of subjects is currently present online and on public transport in Bern, as well as in the form of posters and advertisements.

Comprehensive interventions

In addition to these classic tasks, Republica was involved in the content development of the new SCB app with the integration of ticketing and subscription management as well as numerous other features. Republica also redesigned the pre-game show; including a film clip with numerous SCB fans and players as well as the new soundtrack to the film. Together with photographer Terence du Fresne, Republica also designed autograph cards to match the campaign.

Recently, the SCB plays at home in red. This change was decided together with the new SCB CEO Raeto Raffainer and with COO Rolf Bachmann. Republica is responsible for the design of the home kit as well as the away and alternate kit. Finally, the agency also trimmed the players' area in the PostFinance Arena completely to SCB and dipped it in the club colors black, yellow and red.

The stated goal of Heads! International is to find the world's best leaders who make a difference, who manage change and create value. With its extensive international network of owners, board members and senior executives in a variety of industries and sectors, the brand understands the most pressing challenges in boardrooms and corporate governance.

In a comprehensive brand analysis, Brandpulse examined the market and the competition and conducted interviews with customers, managers and employees of Heads! International and categorized the market in terms of brand strategy. The outcome of the analysis led to insights into corporate strategy as well as brand strategy and brand conception.

From the formulation of the brand strategy, Brandpulse defined the differentiation potential of Heads! International and formulated the positioning with brand promise and value proposition. On the basis of the new brand strategy, the design strategy was determined and the new brand image was developed, which embodies the core competence "Board Advisory".

Brandpulse developed the branding with a new logo design, developed the claim "Placing Value creating Leaders", defined a differentiating color coding, the imagery, communication messages and implemented the website. Other sub-projects include the PowerPoint presentation, whitepapers and brochures, flyers, stationery, event touchpoints, employer branding, "Join us" website with films, giveaways and a style guide.

The new brand was launched at an international employee event in Milan in November.