1.2 About this report

The Corporate Report is prepared annually for the attention of the Members' General Meeting. In it, SQS provides an account of the three dimensions of sustainable corporate management: environmental, social and economic and - as a cross-sectional dimension - corporate governance.

The report is a central instrument of internal and external corporate communication (CC). The primary addressees are the members. Other stakeholder groups that should be informed include employees and the Board (internal CC) as well as the Supervisory Committee, advisory councils, clients and other market participants, official and political decision-makers and media representatives (external CC).

The report is based on the normative categories and principles of the Communication on Progress to the UN Global Compact (governance, human rights and labour standards, environment) and the Global Reporting Initiative (economy, ecology, social affairs).

SQS-Delimitation

Delimitation

The corporate report refers to the activities and impact of the following organisations:

  • The Association SQS based in Zollikofen, Canton of Berne;

  • The SQS Business Services GmbH based in Zollikofen, Canton of Berne;

  • The branch office SQS Italy in Mailan as well as the subsidiary SQS Italia S.r.l. based in Milan, Italy;

  • The subsidiary SQS Germany GmbH based in Constance, Germany.

The subsidiaries in Germany and Italy are currently not subject to auditing and are therefore not included in the financial reporting. Otherwise - and unless otherwise stated - the information in this corporate report relates to the above-mentioned organisations.

The branch office in Milan is legally part of the association SQS and offers products accredited or authorised in Switzerland in Italy, while the Italian subsidiary offers products accredited or authorised in Italy. Operationally, there is a large overlap between the two units.

Furthermore, the Association SQS is involved in the following organisations:

In addition, SQS is represented as a supporting organisation - together with the Swiss Association for Quality (SAQ) - on the Board of Trustees of the sfaq Foundation for Research and Education «Quality».

These holdings are mentioned in the report if SQS has exerted relevant influence on their activities and effects or has experienced relevant influence from their activities and effects.

Unless otherwise stated, all information relates to the calendar year 2024 resp. the reporting date of 31 December 2024.

Materiality

We derive the materiality of our activities and impacts from our understanding of sustainable corporate governance and our role in sustainable development (see «SQS in sustainable development» in chapter 1.1). We therefore report in the three dimensions ft he Triple Bottom Line:

We assume this responsibility in cooperation with resp. towards the following stakeholder groups:

  • Clients

  • Permanent employees and freelancers

  • Members and organs of the association (see «Governance» in section 1.1)

  • Regulators (norms and standards setters, accreditation and authorisation bodies, legislators, authorities)

  • Partner organisations (including organisations of which SQS is a member)

  • Consultants of SQS clients and other market participants

We are aware that the significance of our activities and impact is not determined by the size of our organisation, but by the nature of our services. The quality and consistency with which we fulfil our mandate - particularly in the area of assessments and certifications (see «Normative basics» in chapter 1.1) - have an influence on the trust between market participants and therefore on the functioning and legitimacy of the market. Due to our mandate and our client structure, these activities and effects relate primarily, but not exclusively, to Switzerland.

Against this background, for example, we do not report in detail on our impact as a purchaser of products and services. Only in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) do we make significant purchases due to advancing digitalisation. In this and other areas (mobility, accommodation, catering, building maintenance, event organisation, marketing, finance, legal advice and insurance), we give preference to our own clients wherever possible. Sustainability criteria are not systematically applied when awarding contracts.