JULY 1998

ECO PERFORMANCE Switzerland 1996/97

EDITORIAL

Moving in the right direction

Dear Reader

With the publication of Credit Suisse Group’s Environmental Performance Evaluation for 1996/97 we aim to

highlight several points: This second report on our Environmental Performance

Evaluation is a testament to the importance we attach to environmental protection and the preservation of

natural resources. During a period of structural change for Credit Suisse Group and the whole of the financial

services industry, we have maintained our firm commitment to these principles, despite the Group’s new

focus on core banking disciplines.

The award of our ISO 14001 environmental certificate came as welcome confirmation from outside the

company that our environmental management system – of which this Performance Evaluation is a key part –

is doing the right thing and doing it well.

We are committed to transparency and truth, which is why we have submitted this report for independent

validation. Our report and our objectives can be perused by staff, customers, shareholders and other inter-

ested parties in printed form or, in keeping with our position as a leading provider of Internet banking, in

paper-free form on the Internet at http://www.csg.ch/eco_performance_97.

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to and offered constructive criticism of the Environmental

Performance Evaluation.

Peter LienhartMember of the Executive Board of Credit Suisse and Environmental Officer of Credit Suisse Group

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ELECTRICITY: Consumption continues to rise

owing to computer usage...…but we are working to reduce it

EXPANSION OF OUR ENVIRON-MENTAL ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

Environmental Performance Eval-uation vs. Environmental ReportOur Environmental PerformanceEvaluation describes and evaluatesall the Group’s energy consumptionand material flows that impact on theenvironment. The EnvironmentalReport, on the other hand, looksmainly at our efforts in productecology and at the structure of ourenvironmental management system.The Report and the PerformanceEvaluation are published bi-annuallyin alternate years.

The Zurich and Geneva system…Our first Environmental PerformanceEvaluation in 1994 concentrated on 17 major properties and sevenbranch buildings belonging to CreditSuisse in Zurich, and on our sixbuildings in Geneva, Credit Suisse’sbiggest Swiss region. Taken to-gether, these properties accountedfor 60% of the energy-consumingfloorspace of the then Credit Suisse(parent company).

…extended to the whole ofSwitzerlandThe 1996/97 Environmental Perform-ance Evaluation encompasses all ofthe Credit Suisse Group’s 472 pre-mises and 20,682 employees inSwitzerland. Total energy-consumingfloorspace comes to 1,203,340 m2.For the first time we have put to-gether an overview of all the fireextinguishing and cooling agents(halon and freon) in our fixed plants.Freon losses have been evaluated

for ecological impact. We have alsocarried out special assessments ofour catering facilities.

Evaluation methodsAs in 1994, we have used the Envi-ronmental Scarcity Method (EIPmethod, see page 6) devised byBraunschweig/Müller-Wenk. Inaddition, we have presented evalua-tions (in German) based on othermethods on the Internet.

Increase in technology leads to increase in electricity consumption Credit Suisse Group’s electricityconsumption continued to rise inabsolute terms in 1996, reaching155 million kWh, equivalent to theannual consumption of 28,000average Swiss households. Themain reason for this 17% increaseon 1994 is the much greater demand for IT capacity. Between1980 and 1996 our computer centres saw a 270-fold expansion instorage capacity!

Computer centres are the majorusersMore than a quarter of our totalelectricity consumption is accountedfor by our computer centres inZurich and Horgen. In 1996, the total electricity bill forall our premises in Switzerland cameto CHF 26.5 million, or CHF 1,280per employee.

Specific electricity consumptiontrending downwardsThanks to various savingsprogrammes and efficiency gains,

specific electricity consumption hasfallen by 10% since 1988. Althoughthere was a short-term rise in 1996

following the restructuring, the goalset out in our Energy Guiding Princi-ples – to reduce specific electricityconsumption to 110 kWh/m2 by2004 – remains realistic.

Planned measuresHowever, we will only reach this goalif further measures are implemented.

Better data collectionIn collaboration with Merkur Immo-bilien Bewirtschaftungs AG (MIB AG,our property and facility managementagent), we are improving the collec-tion of consumption data by gradu-ally introducing electronic processingand frequent data checks. The relia-bility and quality of our data is beingenhanced, allowing us to take cor-rective steps more speedily andensuring closer compliance with theprovisions of ISO 14001.

70

90

110

130

150

170

CS

Energy GuidingPrinciples target

Volksbank

Merger

1978 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96

Specific electricity consumption in kWh/m2, 1978 to 1996

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HEAT: Networked systems reduce costs

TRAVEL: Three-quarters above the clouds

In 1996, the bank’s heat rate inSwitzerland was 116 million kWh,costing CHF 5 million, or CHF 244per employee. Our business realign-ment (e.g. union with Swiss Volks-bank and Neue Aargauer Bank) ledto an increase in floorspace, and withfloorspace having grown faster thanheat rate, our specific heat rate hasactually fallen by a third since 1986to 97 kWh/m2.

Lower energy costs thanks tonetworked heating systems and a cogeneration systemThrough the use of networked heatingsystems – at Paradeplatz and theUetlihof, for instance – we can savesignificant amounts of oil and gas eachyear. As a result, the release of typicalemissions from the burning process,such as nitrous oxide and sulphurdioxide, has also fallen sharply. Theintroduction of the cogenerationsystem at the Uetlihof helped us toreduce gas consumption and emis-sions of air pollutants, and to savearound CHF 600,000 in energy costsin 1996.

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Business travelFor 1996 we have for the first timecalculated the amount of travel gen-erated by our business activity at allSwiss locations. The total came toalmost 35 million kilometres, or1,700 km per employee per year.Over 75% of this total was attribut-able to air travel. Flights which webooked out of Zurich, Geneva andLugano airports caused emission ofabout 5,100 tonnes of the green-

Percentage of kilometres flownby each Business Unit

Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse Private Banking

Credit Suisse First Boston

Credit Suisse Asset Management

8%

13%

29%

50%

house gas carbon dioxide (CO2). Thisis equivalent to the annual CO2

emissions of 1,000 cars (travelling an average 15,000 km per year).Videoconferencing helped us to saveabout one million kilometres of flying.

CommutingBecause of the restructuring, wehave not updated our analysis ofcommuter travel and have insteadused the figures for 1994. 75%

of our employees at Head Office in Zurich commuted 30 million kilo-metres on public transport. Theremaining 17 million kilometres weretravelled using private vehicles.Management of our 8,100 parkingplaces cost CHF 15 million in 1996, or CHF 150 per parking place permonth.

PAPER: Consumption reduced by 10%

WASTE: More transparency !

In 1996 we used almost 5,000tonnes of paper, a reduction of 10%on 1995. More than half of totalpaper consumption was of the “con-tinuous feed” paper used for internallists and customer records. Usage of this type of paper was also re-duced by 10% compared with 1995,partly thanks to the major expansionof electronic access to internal lists.44% of our paper products weremade of recycled paper.

Breakdown of paper quality

chlorine bleached

chlorine-free bleached

recycled paper, incl. cardboard

6%

50%

44%

If converted into individual sheets ofstandard A4 copier paper, our totalpaper consumption laid end to endwould circle the world seven and ahalf times (300,000 km).

Why we use so much paperAlthough our Energy Guiding Princi-ples commit us to saving paper, as afinancial services company we haveto generate a large volume of cus-tomer records, forms, publications,envelopes and office stationery.

Internet bankingIn spring 1997, Credit Suisse be-came the first Swiss bank to offer itscustomers the chance to take careof their banking over the Internet. By the first quarter of 1998,15–20,000 transactions each daywere being executed using thisfacility.

Volumes of rubbish, waste paper andwaste cardboard were recorded forthe old Credit Suisse, Swiss Volks-bank, Neue Aargauer Bank andBank Leu. In certain Service Centresand major buildings, waste is dividedinto up to 30 different categories. In1996 the total waste for all our pre-mises came to about 6,000 tonnes,or 290 kg per head. The goalsstated in our Environmental Reporthave not been achieved in all locations.Furthermore, there are too manyuncertainties, and too many gaps inour data, for us to be able to sayhow much we have spent on wastemanagement.

Evaluation of our staff restaurantsCredit Suisse uses five catering firmsto run 18 restaurants and cafeterias.Research into the operations man-aged by one of these firms, SV-Service, shows that 70% of totalwaste is attributable to leftovers andpreparation waste, followed by card-board and paper (9%), coffeegrounds (8%) and mixed glass (6%).1.07 million meals are prepared eachyear and the 11 SV operations gen-erate 480 tonnes of waste annually,equivalent to 450 grams per meal.

Planned measuresWe will improve our data collectionso that we can react more quickly tothe constant changes within the areaof waste disposal and gain a greaterinsight into our waste managementcosts.

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Water, fire extinguishing agents, cooling agents, chemicals

ENVIRONMENTAL Impact Points and GreenhouseGasses

WaterAlthough our consumption of drinkingwater has risen by 14% comparedwith 1994, specific consumption byfloorspace has gone down by 5%.Water costs rose by CHF 2.1 millionto CHF 2.6 million, equal to 8% oftotal expenditure on electricity, oil,gas and water in 1996.

Fire extinguishing agent (halon)A total of 20,290 kg of halon type1301 is held at our 13 fixed plants.No losses were reported in 1996.

Cooling agent (freon)10,195 kg of cooling agent, dividedinto eight different types of freon,circulates in our 170 fixed plants andmachinery across Switzerland. Of this total, 95% is accounted for byfreons R22 and R12.

The recorded losses of 758 kg (7% of installed volume) are relativelyhigh. 40 kg of freon was lost at each of six of our older, less reliableplants. These plants are being renovated.

ChemicalsThe range of chemicals used wentdown from 246 types in 1996 to 234in 1997. For class 1–4 toxins, we

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achieved a reduction from 48 to 39products.

Eco-training for cleaning teamsOur successful training programmesfor internal and external cleaningstaff (which includes training in“green” cleaning techniques) will becontinued.

We can analyse the informationrecorded in the Environmental Per-formance Evaluation to assess itsrelevance for the environment. In thisway we can establish priorities forenvironmental management. Accord-ing to the Environmental ImpactPoints (EIP) method updated in1997, our core balance sheet (environmental balance sheet in thenarrower sense) is worth 89 billionEIP. The lion’s share of our corebalance sheet (over 90%) is accounted for by our provision ofelectricity and heating. Heatingsystems are the main producers ofgreenhouse gasses.

0

20

40

60

80

100

Breakdown of pollution in % according to core balance sheet and complementary balance sheets

Business travel WasteEmission of cooling agents

Vehicles CSG

Cogeneration systems

Water

Core balancesheet

Complementary balance sheets

Pap

er

Heating

Electricity

* Data Base Head Office Zurich 1994 Air

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vel

Co

mm

uti

ng b

y tr

ain*

Co

mm

uti

ng b

y ca

r*

Trai

n tr

avel

*

Ext

erna

l co

uri

ers

The new organisation under the

ENVIRONMENTAL Microscope

From CS Holding to Credit Suisse GroupSince we published our first Environ-mental Performance Evaluation forZurich and Geneva in 1995, our bankhas undergone a fundamentalchange. In the summer of 1996, theBoard of Directors of the then CSHolding announced that the companywould be completely restructuredover the following two years.On 1 January 1997, CS Holding,which consisted mainly of the full-service banks Credit Suisse (CS) andSwiss Volksbank (SVB) and theinvestment bank CS First Boston,became Credit Suisse Group. Thenew company is structured into fourlargely autonomous Business Units(BUs) each of which focuses on aspecific customer segment:

• Corporate and personal bank-ing in Switzerland(Credit Suisse, CS)

• Private investment customers(Credit Suisse Private Banking,CSPB)

• Worldwide investment andcorporate banking for large-scale customers and banks(Credit Suisse First Boston, CSFB)

• Asset management and advicefor institutional customers(Credit Suisse Asset Management,CSAM).

In autumn 1997 Credit Suisse Groupdecided to merge with WinterthurInsurances. This additional unit hasnot been included in the Environmen-tal Performance Evaluation.

A separate Environmental Perform-ance Evaluation was carried out toassess how much the restructuringhas impacted on the environment.This Performance Evaluation con-centrates on all significant flows ofmaterial and energy which can bedirectly attributed to the new struc-ture. These were measured betweenJuly 1996 and December 1997 atCredit Suisse Group’s Swiss loca-tions. The short-term environmental burdencaused by the restructuring came toabout 1% of the figure recorded inthe 1996/97 Environmental Perform-ance Evaluation for the whole ofCredit Suisse Group (Switzerland).The whole project thus affected theenvironment to a lesser extent than aweek of normal bank business!Most of the additional burden wasgenerated by the printing of newforms for internal and external use,followed by the production of newsigns for buildings.

One of the investigation’s goals wasto identify possible potential forsavings. The only major savingsopportunity was in the area of busi-ness travel: many flights could havebeen avoided by the increased use ofvideo and telephone conferencing.Under other circumstances, we wouldalso have been able to do withoutprovisional signs for buildings.It is almost impossible to estimatethe long-term effects of the restruc-turing. It is very likely, however, that it will have a positive impactwithin the next few years, not onlyfinancially but also in terms of theenvironment.

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Environmental management system validated

according to ISO 14001

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We began taking steps to protect theenvironment and preserve naturalresources back in the 1970s. CreditSuisse’s well-established environ-mental management system wastransferred to the Credit SuisseGroup when the restructuring tookplace. The system gained IS0 14001certification in April 1997.This certification shows that we areaware of the impact we have on theenvironment and of the environmentalregulations pertaining to our opera-tions, that we possess the tools toenable constant improvement of ourenvironmental performance, and thatwe have set up proper environmentalcontrol and Performance Evaluationfunctions.Our environmental managementsystem still has to be further improved at some locations and insome areas (e.g. training). The certificate is valid for threeyears.

Validation by SGS InternationalCertification Services AG“We have examined the plausibilityof the figures in this report on theEnvironmental Performance Evalua-tion 1996/97 and assessed theunderlying data collection andcontrol methodology.Our examination confirms thatdata collection and control wascarried out carefully and in accord-ance with the established stand-ards, and that the figures in thereport are realistic.”

Elvira Bieri and Dr Franz Heinzer Zurich, 20 April 1998

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The firm which carries out certifica-tion, SGS-ICS, also carries out theannual supervisory PerformanceEvaluation and, in a separate man-date, has validated this report.

This paper-saving short version,which is also available in German,French and Italian, is a summary ofthe full 1996/97 EnvironmentalPerformance Evaluation report. Theshort version and the full Germanreport, as well as key figures in linewith VfU standards, can be found onthe Internet at http://www.csg.ch/eco_performance_97.

By placing the report on the Internet,the first time we have done so, wehope to hear about other people’sexperiences and give interestedparties an opportunity to peruse ourreport. We look forward to receivingyour comments.

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For further information and toorder additional copies:

Credit Suisse Environmental Management Services, CCUEP.O. Box 100CH-8070 ZurichTel. ++ 41-(0)1-333 7 333Fax ++ 41-(0)1-333 7 633Internet: http://www.csg.ch/

eco_performance_97e-mail: eco@csg.ch

Environmental PerformanceEvaluation 1996/97 ProjectCommitteeWalter A. Gieringer, Robert Bleuer,Daniel S. Mollet

Project TeamOtti Bisang, Patrik Burri, Viviane Duflon, Nick Marolf, Markus Seiler, Jan Suter (Environmental Management Services). With the invaluable support of all our environmentally relevant departments.

ConsultantsOliver Schmid-Schönbein, Christophe Loretan (E2 Management Consulting AG)

Printed on recycled paper(Perlentrend, contains at least75% secondary fibres, matt natural white). Less waste, more information: wewould be grateful if you could passthis report on to others or circulateit within your office.

Thank you!