Climate-related financial
disclosures (TCFD)

PwC CH

These disclosures provide a foundation to improve investors’ and other stakeholders’ ability to appropriately assess and price climate-related risk and opportunities.

Swiss Re has a long track record as a responsible company. In our understanding this means a commitment to sustainable, long-term value creation. Through our enhanced Group Sustainability Strategy we have further sharpened this commitment and have clearly defined sustainability as a strategic, long-term value driver.

We adopt this approach throughout our re/insurance value chain, comprising of both the liability and the asset sides of our balance sheet, our own operations and dialogue with our stakeholders.

The 2030 Sustainability Ambitions of our strategy cover three focus areas where we can have a significant positive impact in terms of supporting sustainability and strengthening resilience.

Climate-related financial disclosures

“Mitigating climate risk and advancing the energy transition” is one of these ambitions. This is why we continue to play an active part in the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures since it was set up by the Financial Stability Board.

Tackling this issue effectively will be challenging. Therefore, we need a viable and adaptable action plan backed by a true multi-stakeholder effort. This plan will be key to developing orchestrated solutions, directing risk transfer products and investments to those areas with the greatest positive impact on enabling sustainable progress.

Starting from the premise that climate change creates physical, liability and transition risks, the TCFD’s aim is to offer consistent and effective financial disclosures that allow investors and other stakeholders to assess the climate risks faced by companies and to take appropriate action.

We began to implement the TCFD recommendations in our 2016 Financial Report and have since continued to expand our climate-related disclosures. The table in Climate governance provides an overview of the core elements of these disclosures, which are covered on the following pages.

Achieving net-zero CO2 emissions1:

In 2019, Swiss Re made three important commitments to achieving net-zero CO2 emissions:

  • Across the Swiss Re Group by 2050, by signing the UN Global Compact “Business Ambition for 1.5°C”
  • In our investment portfolio by 2050, as a founding partner of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance
  • In our operations already by 2030

1 Net-zero emissions means that for every tonne of CO2 that cannot be reduced, a tonne needs to be removed from the atmosphere and stored permanently through so called carbon removal technologies.

To learn more about our Group Sustainability Strategy and for a full account of our recent actions and achievements, we invite you to read our stand-alone 2019 Sustainability Report at: reports.swissre.com/sustainabilityreport/2019/