The Financial Times’ Commodities Global Summit has established itself as the pre-eminent gathering of senior commodity executives, traders and financiers. The 2025 edition is held over three days in an in-person and digital format and will run from March 24 to March 26, 2025.

The Conference showcases over 85 industry-leading speakers sharing their unique insights on the challenges and opportunities of the current volatile commodities market and attracts more than 450 global leaders. Participants have the option to join either in-person or online.

Further information and the agenda for the event can be accessed via this link.

In strict cooperation with our sister association Zug Commodity Association (ZCA), we are able to offer to LCTA Executive Board and Regular Members a 15% discount on the in-person or digital pass.

Contact our Membership service via email to receive the discount code.

The Certified Commodity Trading Specialist (CCTS) is a SAQ certification in the commodity trading sector and aims to be recognized as a quality benchmark for professionals active in this field.

Who will benefit

• Traders or operators early in their careers as commodity trading employees, who wish to receive a comprehensive overview of commodity trading;
• Other specialists in commodity companies who wish to complete their knowledge about processes of other functions and be more prepared to step up as senior within the organisation;
• Employees or managers of companies that provide services to the commodity sector, such as banks, auditing, legal, transportation, risk management, insurance companies, etc., who wish to better understand the industry in which their clients operate;
• Entrepreneurs, directors, finance managers, sector managers, etc., who are active in small and medium-sized companies that have foreign dealings and wish to learn more about commodity trading.
• Graduates aiming to begin their career in the industry.

Objectives

At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Apply the fundamentals of commodity trade and interpret geopolitical dynamics;
• Correctly place the importance and role of raw materials in their business value chain;
• Recognize the most important and/or critical aspects related to the supply and transportation of raw materials and be able to identify the right solutions;
• List the parameters and operations of trade finance in commodity trading and know how to apply them to one’s own business reality;
• Identify and manage the major risks associated with commodity trading;
• Correctly apply laws and regulations related to the commodities industry;
• Recognize the need to apply the principle of sustainability in the commodity trading business and the respective critical issues.

Structure

The training is structured in 5 modules:

• Module 1: Commodities: geopolitical dynamics, value chain and sustainability (12 hours)
• Module 2: Shipping & Transport (8 hours)
• Module 3: Legal & Compliance (12 hours)
• Module 4: Trade finance (20 hours)
• Module 5: Risk management (8 hours)

For further information download the Brochure.

Scholarship

LCTA awards annually two scholarships to non-LCTA-affiliated students enrolled in the CCTS training. For further information download the CCTS Scholarship Regulations.

Are you ready to elevate your expertise in commodity trading?

We are pleased to announce the upcoming webinar presentation for the 2nd edition of the Certified Commodity Trading Specialist (CCTS) course, organized by LCTA and ALMA Impact AG!

The course leads to ISO-compliant certification issued by the Swiss Association for Quality (SAQ).

The government of Switzerland has recently implemented new due diligence requirements for Swiss companies to better protect people and the environment both at home and abroad. The legislation includes new reporting requirements on “non-financial matters”, in the areas of environment, social responsibility, and human rights (Ordinance on Climate Disclosure), which are based on the existing European Union Directive 2014/95/EU (Non-Financial Reporting Directive); and new due diligence and reporting obligations with respect to conflict minerals and to prevent child labour throughout the supply chain (DDTrO).

In turn, the European Union has stalled the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), which would require EU and non-EU companies to carefully manage social and environmental impacts throughout their entire supply chain, including direct and indirect suppliers, their own operations, and their products and services. At the moment of publishing this event, it is unknown what will happen next, and if there will still be a vote on the proposal. Following the existing regulations in Germany (Supply Chain Due Diligence Act or “Lieferkettengesetz”) and France (Duty of Diligence Act or “Loi sur le devoir de vigilance”), more EU member States may enact national legislation to ensure that businesses address the negative consequences of their actions, including those in their value chains. The legislative landscape regarding this topic is growing more complex.

Therefore, the Swiss commodity trading umbrella association SUISSENÉGOCE and the Total Quality Assurance provider Intertek, in cooperation with the human rights consultancy firm focusright, have developed a multi-step program to assist SUISSENÉGOCE (and thus LCTA) members in understanding how their policies and processes meet the legal requirements in this area. The program has five steps:

1. Internal company Self-Assessments
2. Company Evaluations
3. Supply Chain Assessments
4. Improve & Educate
5. Analyse

During a 90-minute workshop, Intertek and focusright experts will provide a snapshot of the legislative landscape and walk participants through the program, with the ultimate goal of allowing them to take the necessary steps toward compliance at their own pace and implement bespoke due diligence strategies for their organization.

Discussion oriented, this program is followed by a networking aperitif.

Speakers:
Barbara Carini, EDGE Global Scheme Manager – GHG Scheme Manager – Sustainability reporting project leader, Intertek
Jérémy Gaspard, Vice President, Government Trade Services Global and World of Energy Europe, Intertek
Matthias Leisinger, Director, Co-Founder, focusright

LCTA Ordinary General Meeting

December 20, 2023, at 18.00

Venue: Townhall Lugano (Municipio di Lugano, Sala del Consiglio comunale)

Admission
Members-only

Programme

Agenda as per Notice calling the Ordinary General Meeting.

In the event that you have not received the Notice, please contact us at info@lcta.ch

Yours Faithfully,

Monica Zurfluh

Secretary General, LCTA