Data and the ability to track and report it is key to credible sustainability. Reliable data underpins the four pillars of SMG Swiss Marketplace Group’s sustainability strategy – from leading with integrity and securing our digital future to empowering employees and driving positive – and turns ambition into accountable action. But how can a digital company like SMG not only define its sustainability goals, but also measure real progress? We spoke with Alicia Hammerstein, Manager Sustainability Reporting at SMG, about how the company collects, evaluates, and improves its data.
Alicia, what do you do as Manager Sustainability Reporting at SMG?
I’m responsible for ensuring that SMG’s sustainability data is accurate and meaningful, and that our reporting is both relevant and compliant with public reporting requirements. My role involves coordinating data collection, validation, and consolidation, which is supported by many internal functions – from the sustainability team focusing on greenhouse gas (GHG) data and sustainability initiatives to numerous data owners across locations.
The goal is to transform this data into reliable insights that enable fact-based decision-making and transparent external reporting. I’m lucky to be “de facto” part of two great teams, the Group Accounting & Reporting team and the Sustainability team, bringing together diverse perspectives.
Why is it important for a digital company like SMG to invest in sustainability data and tracking – especially for regular public reporting?
As a digital company connecting millions of people across Switzerland, we have a particular responsibility to be transparent, not only about our environmental footprint but also on social and governance topics. For example, data protection and cybersecurity are essential to keeping our customers safe, and we demonstrate in the report that we take this responsibility seriously.
I’m very aware of the responsibility that comes with public reporting and the importance of transparency. Reliable sustainability data ensures that our progress is measurable, our decisions are fact-based, and our reporting remains credible. As a public company, reporting is also an essential part of how we engage with the capital markets, demonstrating accountability and building trust with investors and other stakeholders.
External stakeholders such as ESG rating agencies, banks, and other financial institutions increasingly use this data to evaluate companies like ours. That’s why we want to be able to show reliable, verifiable data on our sustainability performance. High-quality data not only strengthens stakeholder confidence, from employees and users to investors, but positions SMG as a trusted, responsible digital pioneer.
How does data help companies act more sustainably and make progress visible?
We often hear the phrase “we need to measure to manage” and it’s really true. Data is the foundation for progress as it shows where we’re performing well, where we can improve, and which actions actually can make a difference. It’s a continuous cycle: collect, measure, analyse, act, report, measure again. This approach turns anecdotal sustainability into something you can govern, track, and translate into measurable impact.
How do you determine the key metrics you track and how do these feed into your reporting obligations as a listed company?
It’s a combination of perspectives, and it starts by asking: what’s the point of tracking and reporting?
The first driver is compliance, ensuring we meet Swiss legal requirements and comply with the Swiss Climate Ordinance, which mandate certain disclosures. We also follow established frameworks such as the GRI Standards (Global Reporting Initiative) and TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures). This not only supports compliance; it makes progress comparable and transparent for investors, regulators, and the public.
The second driver is company-specific and comes from the double materiality assessment (DMA), where we consider the perspectives of internal and external stakeholders to identify sustainability-related impacts, risk and opportunities for SMG. These topics can have both positive and negative dimensions, and we identify key metrics to demonstrate how we measure and manage these topics.
These feed directly into our Sustainability Report, balancing what’s strategically meaningful for the company with what’s relevant for our external audiences.
Are there areas where it’s particularly difficult to get valuable data – and how do you deal with that?
Yes, definitely. One of the biggest challenges is Scope 3 emissions, meaning the indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur along our value chain. Measuring these emissions requires collaboration and reliable data from many external partners.
Over the past 12 months the Sustainability team has worked closely with our Procurement team to build this collaboration with suppliers, focusing on shared understanding, clear expectations, and gradual data quality improvement. Scope 3 is an area that no company can address alone; advancing the quality and reliability of greenhouse gas data demands collaboration across industries and stakeholders.
Can you share an example where sustainability data helped create concrete action or change at SMG?
A good example is our progress on avoided emissions – the positive environmental impact of enabling secondhand transactions through our General Marketplaces platforms Ricardo, tutti.ch and anibis.ch. For the first time, we prepared a dedicated report to quantify our contribution to the circular economy in 2024.
This data previously existed in parts but wasn’t explicitly showcased. By consolidating it and reporting, we created visibility internally and externally around the impact our General Marketplaces have .
Looking back at the process of creating SMG’s first Sustainability Report 2024: What lessons have you learned that you would share with other organisations?
Our first reporting cycle was a major learning experience for our team. Especially spending time upfront to lay the foundation pays off. A solid double materiality assessment can go a long way, as it defines the material topics very clearly, which gives you clean boundaries for the report.
From a process perspective, my advice would be to start early, actively involve your data owners, and approach it as a continuous learning experience. We also reflected on our first year, listened to feedback from internal stakeholders, and used that to refine our data collection and reporting processes for the next report. Sustainability reporting is evolving, and we’re embracing that mindset to evolve with it.
What motivates you personally to focus on sustainability and data quality?
I’m motivated by the belief that transparency drives progress and builds trust. Coming from a financial audit and reporting background, applying the same expectation to sustainability data quality as financial data feels natural and necessary. Ultimately, both sustainability and financial reporting serve the same purpose: to guide internal and external decision-making and that can only be done on the basis of reliable, high-quality data.
Alicia Hammerstein
Manager Sustainability Reporting
