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1. Sustainable corporate governance  //  2. Business model and business performance  //  3. Social affairs  //  4. Environment

Strategic business units 1 and 2

In 2023, SQS had over 100 products in its portfolio. A distinction was made between products

• in the accredited area (authorisation to certify recognised standards by state accreditation bodies);

• in the wider regulated area (authorisation for certification of private standards by private approval bodies);

• in the non-regulated area.

Further information on accreditation in general and on SQS accreditations and authorisations can be found in the blog post «Accreditation: separating the wheat from the chaff | SQS». The Swiss Accreditation Body is by far the most important accreditation body for SQS, ahead of the Italian Accredia

The large - and growing - number of products should not obscure the fact that the majority of sales are generated with three main standards in the accredited area: ISO 9001:2015 (quality management), ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management) and ISO 45001:2018 (occupational health and safety). The 2024 financial year was also accompanied by a recertification cycle for the first two standards, which further boosted their importance - and therefore total revenue. In the last five years, the share of the three core standards in all certifications has always been between 66% and 70%  (2024: 66%).

However: if the demand for certified information security management systems continues to develop as dynamically as it has in recent years, ISO 27001:2022 is likely to soon become the fourth core standard. The blog post Wall thick, doors closed shows why companies are increasingly making use of this service: Endress+Hauser turns information security into a competitive advantage | SQS.

In absolute terms, demand developed positively in both main markets, but was particularly dynamic in Italy: the proportion of certificates issued in Switzerland fell to 64% in 2024 (previous year: 66%), while the proportion of certificates issued in Italy increased to over 25%  (previous year: 24%).

The core standards - in particular ISO 9001:2015 - are all the more important as they often form the basis for the integration of other standards for customers and are therefore a driver of cross-selling, where SQS can utilise the competitive advantage of its broad range. In our marketing and communication activities in 2024, we therefore consistently explained the benefits of integrated management systems (see, for example, the blog post IMS - What is an Integrated Management System? | SQS). At the end of 2024, almost 16% of customers had three or more SQS certificates.

Strategic business unit 3

Further education in the area of management system standards and methods developed favourably. Sales grew again in 2024 - by 8 per cent to CHF 1.45 million (previous year: CHF 1.34 million). This was accompanied by an increase in the number of events held to 153 (previous year: 134). The proportion of online events was increased again due to customer needs - to a total of 78 (2024) from 54 (2023) - which also had a positive impact on the profitability of SGF3. Webinars can be adapted very flexibly to demand and result in significantly lower variable costs. Participant satisfaction remained constant at a high level (4.6 as in the previous year). The highest score is 5.0.