Switzerland has no single law requiring every company to publish a carbon footprint. It has something else: a stack of texts that, taken together, force a large share of the economy to measure its emissions. A tax on fossil fuels whose refund presupposes a quantified commitment. A mandatory emissions trading system for certain industrial activities. A climate reporting obligation for large public-interest companies, anchored in the TCFD recommendations. And, in the background, commercial pressure from the European Union: clients subject to the CSRD are asking their Swiss suppliers for carbon data.
This article describes the framework in force as of September 3, 2026, text by text, with exact thresholds and legal references. It also flags what remains uncertain, notably a possible alignment of Swiss law with European reporting standards.
The two laws that structure Swiss climate policy
The foundation rests on two federal texts.
These targets do not create a direct carbon footprint obligation for companies. They do, however, shape the instruments that produce concrete measurement obligations.
The CO2 tax: CHF 120 per tonne
The Confederation levies a CO2 tax on the production, extraction and import of fossil fuels, under Article 29 of the CO2 Act. The amount is set by Article 94(1)(d) of the CO2 Ordinance (RS 641.711): CHF 120 per tonne of CO2 since January 1, 2022, with the tariff per energy carrier listed in Annex 11 of the same ordinance, in the version consolidated as of January 1, 2026. Article 29(2) of the Act sets the levy at CHF 36 per tonne and allows the Federal Council to raise it to a maximum of CHF 120: the statutory cap is therefore reached.
Mind the scope: the tax applies to combustibles (heating oil, natural gas, coal), not to road fuels. One third of the tax revenue is earmarked for reducing building CO2 emissions and promoting renewable energy, with unspent earmarked funds capped at CHF 150 million at the close of a financial year (Article 33a of the CO2 Act). The remainder is distributed among the population and the business sector in proportion to the amounts each has paid (Article 36).
Two tax refund routes concern companies directly, and both presuppose carbon accounting.
A third, narrower route concerns combined heat and power installations with a combustion heat output of at least 0.5 MW and at most 20 MW, with a 60% refund of the tax on combustibles used to produce electricity (Article 98a of the CO2 Ordinance).
The Swiss ETS and its link with the European system
The Swiss emissions trading system works on a cap-and-trade logic. Three rules to remember.
Participating in the ETS requires an annual monitoring plan and monitoring report submitted to FOEN. This is, in practice, the most demanding form of carbon accounting imposed in Switzerland.
The climate report: Code of Obligations art. 964a and Ordinance RS 221.434
This is where Swiss law meets the logic of sustainability reporting.
Who is concerned. Article 964a of the Code of Obligations requires an annual report on non-financial matters from companies that cumulatively meet three conditions:
A subsidiary is released from the obligation if it is controlled by a company itself subject to Article 964a, or by a company required to prepare an equivalent report under foreign law.
What the report must contain. Article 964b covers environmental, social, employee-related, human rights and anti-corruption matters, and explicitly cites CO2 targets. It requires a description of the business model, the concepts applied, the measures taken and their effectiveness, the key risks, and key performance indicators.
The climate component. The Ordinance of November 23, 2022 on Climate Reporting (RS 221.434), in force since January 1, 2024, refines this point. Its Article 3 bases the climate report on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, June 2017 version, together with the October 2021 implementation annex. The four pillars are governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. The text further requires a transition plan comparable with Switzerland's climate targets, quantified CO2 reduction targets, and disclosure of all greenhouse gas emissions, where feasible and appropriate.
A company that produces a report compliant with this Article 3 is deemed to have met the environmental obligation of Article 964b on the climate component. Failing that, it must demonstrate that it fulfills the obligation another way, or explain clearly and with reasons why it has not adopted an approach.
Publication. The report is approved and signed by the supreme management or administrative body, then approved by the body competent for approving the annual accounts. It is published electronically immediately after approval and remains publicly accessible for at least ten years (Article 964c of the Code of Obligations). The ordinance requires an internationally widespread electronic format, readable by both humans and machines, on the company's website.
The revision in preparation. On June 26, 2024 the Federal Department of Justice and Police opened a consultation procedure titled "Transparency on sustainability matters", aimed at adapting Articles 964a to 964c of the Code of Obligations to Directive (EU) 2022/2464, with parallel amendments to the Audit Oversight Act and the Criminal Code. The consultation closed on October 17, 2024. As of September 3, 2026, no dispatch has been published in the Federal Gazette on this project, and the consolidated versions of the Code of Obligations published by Fedlex, up to the one applicable on July 1, 2027, leave Articles 964a to 964c unchanged. The timetable for a Swiss alignment with the European framework therefore remains open.
The penalties provided
Article 325ter of the Criminal Code (RS 311.0) punishes with a fine of up to CHF 100,000 anyone who, intentionally, gives false information in the reports referred to in Articles 964a and 964b of the Code of Obligations or fails to prepare them, or who breaches the record-keeping and documentation obligations of Article 964c. Negligence is punished with a fine of up to CHF 50,000.
The magnitude bears no comparison with European sanction regimes, but the reputational risk of a contested climate report remains fully intact.
A Swiss company facing a client subject to the CSRD
This is the most common scenario, and the least well understood. Switzerland is a third country under EU law. Directive (EU) 2026/470 of February 24, 2026, published in the Official Journal on February 26, 2026 and in force twenty days later, tightened the scope of the CSRD. Three consequences for a Swiss company.
For the full detail of the European mechanism, our article on the CSRD directive covers the complete mechanism.
Where to start, in practice
A Swiss company structuring its approach benefits from addressing four questions in this order.
This is the same path we have documented for other markets, for example in our carbon footprint guide for companies in Tunisia (FR).
What Kabaun brings to this framework
Kabaun calculates emissions using the GHG Protocol methodology and covers scopes 1, 2 and 3, with the 15 standardized scope 3 categories. The platform manages multiple legal entities and multiple sites within a single account, with consolidation at group level: a typical case for a Swiss group with European subsidiaries. Every data point is linked to a traceable source and its supporting documents, and the audit trail is complete and tamper-proof, which directly serves an external verification. The regulatory watch module explicitly covers TCFD, CSRD and ESRS standards, and the platform generates reports compliant with the CSRD and ESRS E1. The interface is available in French and English.
To scope your situation, get in touch with our team.
FAQ
Is a carbon footprint mandatory for all Swiss companies?
No. No federal text imposes a carbon footprint on all companies. The obligation arises indirectly: a climate report under Article 964a of the Code of Obligations for large public-interest companies, annual monitoring for ETS participants, and a quantified commitment for operators exempted from the CO2 tax.
What is the amount of the CO2 tax in Switzerland?
CHF 120 per tonne of CO2 on fossil combustibles, a rate set by Annex 11 of the CO2 Ordinance (RS 641.711) and reached since January 1, 2022. Article 29 of the CO2 Act caps the tax at this amount. Road fuels are not affected.
What are the thresholds for the Swiss climate report?
Three cumulative conditions: being a public-interest company within the meaning of Article 2 letter c of the Audit Oversight Act, reaching at least 500 full-time positions on average annually over two consecutive financial years on a consolidated scope, and exceeding, over two consecutive financial years, CHF 20 million in total balance sheet or CHF 40 million in revenue.
Is the Swiss climate report equivalent to the CSRD?
No. Ordinance RS 221.434 relies on the 2017 TCFD recommendations and its 2021 annex, following a comply-or-explain logic. The CSRD and the ESRS standards rest on double materiality and a much broader set of data points. The two frameworks are not interchangeable.
Can a Swiss SME decline a carbon questionnaire from a European client?
It can limit its scope. Directive (EU) 2026/470 protects value-chain companies that do not exceed an average of 1,000 employees over the preceding financial year: reporting standards cannot require more from them than what the voluntary-use standards of Article 29ca provide.
What is the risk for a company that does not publish its report?
A fine of up to CHF 100,000 for an intentional breach, and up to CHF 50,000 for negligence, under Article 325ter of the Criminal Code.
