Analysis drives Performance

Communicate in a convincing and compliant way. With us, it will be pragmatic and efficient.

The pressure on companies to improve their ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) performance and to communicate in a legally compliant manner is increasing all the time. Be it the EU Directive, the Swiss OR 964 or the German Supply Chain Act, requirements are constantly changing. By the 2025 financial year at the latest, not only large but also a considerable number of SMEs operating within the EU will have to report on ESG results in great detail.

While investors and rating agencies are already identifying the leaders in each field, many companies are still struggling to set ESG priorities, define metrics and report effectively to meet the needs of increasingly demanding stakeholders.

Many difficulties arise when preparing an ESG report:

Which metrics and measures do you choose to represent a company's ESG performance?

How can one put a monetary value on an accident, CO₂ emissions or customer satisfaction?

What actually constitutes good ESG performance? 30% women? 2,000 tons of CO₂? 10 accidents?

How do you communicate when rating agencies have differing and intransparent goals and interests?

Obermatt ESG & Compensation Framework

We reduce complexity for you by consolidating ESG. With over 120 experts from market leading companies Obermatt developed the ESG & Compensation Framework. Together we defined 1,200 typical ESG metrics, used by rating agencies and investors, a concentrated Framework of 400 metrics (longlist), of which 170 are relevant for compensation (shortlist). Meanwhile we hold regular expert rounds with more than 100 leading international companies, more than 40% of which are listed in recognized stock market indices, where we define Best Practice and thus ensure a high degree of topicality and practical relevance on the subject of ESG and compensation

Obermatt ESG Framework - in cooperation with industry leaders and metrics from ratings agencies

Together with you we prioritize the topics that are of particular importance to your company. In addition, we jointly define further ESG topics that still need time in your company and will only be given priority later on. Thus you will be able to identify ESG topics that are most important to you today, quickly, efficiently and precisely for the development of your ESG reporting and the implementation of ESG in your compensation and to anchor ESG in your company in the long term.

The ESG & Compensation Framework facilitates the identification of ESG priorities and metrics for ESG reporting to investors, rating agencies, employees and customers. With a good ESG report, companies - even those in problematic industries - receive a good ESG rating, because transparency creates trust. This succeeds because ESG is not an expression of the industry, but a statement about how well and sustainably the business is managed. Better recruiting success or more favorable financing conditions are just two of many competitive advantages.

ESG implementation in 6 steps

After analyzing the status quo, we jointly define your ESG priorities with the help of the Obermatt ESG & Compensation Framework
You select your ESG metrics and Obermatt advises and accompanies you in this selection process
You set targets for your ESG metrics. Obermatt accompanies you in the target setting process (e.g. internal / peer, absolute / relative etc.) and provides you with scientifically based input
You report your ESG performance. Obermatt will provide you with a performance evaluation based on the defined key performance indicators
You link the ESG key performance indicators to your executives' compensation to improve your ESG metrics
You optimize your ESG metrics in a continuous process and thus your ESG rating. Obermatt accompanies you in this process on a long-term basis

With the Obermatt ESG Framework companies can communicate their ESG performance legally compliant and in accordance with GRI, SASB and other standards efficiently and pragmatically.

Obermatt ESG Expert Rounds

The topicality of our findings is ensured by regular updates in the format of the Obermatt Expert Rounds. 160 specialists from now more than 100 listed companies from Switzerland and Germany contribute their experiences on the practical implementation of ESG and compensation systems. Extremely relevant questions have already been answered in the expert rounds. The unique documentation is available to all participants free of charge. Become a member of the expert round now, contribute your experience and benefit from an invaluable pool of knowledge.

Which criteria can be used and applied in compensation (STI or LTI)?

What challenges must be overcome in the goal-setting process?

What is the right number and weighting of the chosen ESG criteria?

Which sources are used and which committees are involved and decide?

Are there discretionary aspects?

Our commitment

Obermatt is proud of our participation in three crucial United Nations initiatives: the UN Global Compact, Women's Empowerment Principles (WEP), and Forward Faster. This commitment reinforces our dedication to sustainable business practices, gender equality, and accelerated action towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UN Global Compact: Aligns our operations with principles in human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.
Women's Empowerment Principles (WEP): Guides our efforts in promoting gender equality across our value chain.
Forward Faster: Commits us to accelerate action in areas like gender equality, climate action, and sustainable finance.

As a member of these initiatives, Obermatt pledges to integrate sustainable practices into our core strategy, promote gender equality, set ambitious targets aligned with SDGs, and transparently report our progress. We invite our clients and partners to join us in building a more sustainable and equitable business world.