Corporate Responsibility

Our actions are guided by sustainable, long-term value creation and have a tangible link to our financial performance.

Overview

Sustainable, long-term value creation serves as a guiding principle for our actions.

Swiss Re has a long-standing commitment to being a responsible company. A key element in our understanding of what this means is the desire to contribute to sustainable, long-term value creation. Based on our values, doing business the Swiss Re way includes:

“Taking the long-term view and playing our part in enabling sustainable progress – for stakeholders and society in general.”

This approach is also in our own best interest, though: it strengthens our capabilities to identify, and address, both risks and opportunities manifesting themselves in the longer run and, as a consequence, to retain our licence to operate.

Corporate responsibility governance

At Swiss Re’s highest governance level, the task of overseeing implementation of our commitment to corporate responsibility has been assigned to a committee of the Board of Directors: it is one of the responsibilities of the Chairman’s and Governance Committee to monitor the Group’s sustainability principles.

Regarding the development and adoption of relevant policies and strategies, the role of the Board of Directors is to endorse them, while the Group Executive Committee approves them. Group Risk Management is responsible for maintaining a suitable risk policy framework, and the Business Units drive strategic implementation within their respective areas.

Sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

Swiss Re was once again named insurance industry group leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 2016. This is the tenth time since 2004 that we have led our industry group in these rankings. The award highlights our long-term commitment to sustainable business and our efforts to continuously and progressively embed sustainability into key business processes and operations.