Our approach to corporate responsibility
We are committed to being a responsible company. Contributing to sustainable, long-term value creation serves as a guiding principle for our actions.
Our commitment to corporate responsibility
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 value creation, for the benefit of our clients and society at large. This long-term view helps us to pursue our vision of making the world more resilient and is embedded in our value framework, which means “doing business the Swiss Re way”.
It 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.
We first began to address a specific sustainability issue almost 30 years ago when we drew attention to the potential risks created by climate change. Building on this, we gradually began to form a commitment to sustainable, long-term value creation and identified the areas of our business we considered relevant to supporting this goal. We first gave this formal expression through our Sustainability Mission Statement and, in parallel, began to provide specific information in dedicated reports, starting with a “Corporate Environmental Report” covering the business year of 1998.
In the following years, we broadened our commitment to “corporate responsibility”: still based on the key notions of long-term value creation and sustainable progress, this began to place more emphasis on social and governance aspects. Our current, overarching commitment is shown below.
Based on our commitment to long-term value creation, we have signed up to a number of external charters and initiatives:
- Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI): see Responsible investment framework and Principles for Responsible Investment
- RE100
- UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI): for our Public Disclosure of Progress, see The Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI)
- UN Global Compact: for our Communication on Progress, see GRI Content Index
- Carbon Disclosure Project
- ClimateWise
Our values mean doing business the Swiss Re way:
- Being open, honest and transparent in everything we do;
- Treating everyone with respect – both inside and outside the company;
- Taking the long-term view and playing our part in enabling sustainable progress – for stakeholders and society in general;
- Creating an inclusive culture that encourages diversity of thought and opinion.
Our general commitment to corporate responsibility:
“Corporate responsibility” expresses Swiss Re’s commitment to being an open, honest and transparent organisation that treats all its stakeholders – employees, shareholders, clients, government agencies and the general public – with respect and integrity. In particular, we aim to take a long-term view and to play our part in enabling sustainable progress.
Sustainability as a guiding principle:
Sustainable progress – or sustainability – can be described as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. To be sustainable, progress must improve economic efficiency, protect and restore ecological systems, and enhance social wellbeing. In all our main activities aimed at implementing corporate responsibility, the principle of sustainability is a key criterion.