General sustainability topics

PwC CH
Glacier tongue in a northern fjord (photo)

Our three 2030 Sustainability Ambitions provide a key focus for our stakeholder dialogue. At the same time, we regularly engage in the wider sustainability discussion and contribute to other topics we consider relevant.

Below are some further sustainability-related highlights of our stakeholder dialogue in 2019:

  • Swiss Re’s Head Property & Specialty Underwriting Reinsurance, Mike Mitchell, published a blog titled: “Now, more than ever insurance is vital to the sustainability of the world’s economies”. This article emphasised the importance of improving global sustainability and resilience by closing the protection gap for all stakeholders, and how great progress can be made through public-private partnerships as well as technology-enabled parametric solutions.
  • Swiss Re Institute hosted our “Sustainability Leadership Series – Responsible investing in practice” event. You can read more about this event in Sustainability Leadership Series – Responsible investing in practice.
  • Swiss Re’s Chairman Swiss Re Institute and Group Chief Underwriting Officer, Edi Schmid, published a blog titled: “Risk, resilience and the road to a sustainable future”. This article emphasises the importance of both resilience and sustainability, as well as thinking about them in the context of the Resilience Index for countries that was developed jointly by Swiss Re Institute and the London School of Economics. Closing the protection gap makes economic common sense and the new Resilience Index is a good example of how risk knowledge can help guide decision-making and strengthen societal resilience.
  • Our Chairman of the Board of Directors, Walter B. Kielholz, annually conducts governance roadshow meetings with Swiss Re’s largest shareholders to provide an update on corporate governance and engage on environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) issues, strategy and other topics. Discussions cover Swiss Re’s approach to managing risks and seizing opportunities on ESG topics, including advances to our leading Sustainable Business Risk Framework, and how we integrate ESG criteria across our investment portfolio.
  • We engaged with the NGO Oceana, under the UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance, and became a signatory committing to the reduction and elimination of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. To this end, we have appropriate risk management protocols and due-diligence procedures in place to help reduce the risk of insuring vessels or companies that act contrary to agreed international governance frameworks and international law covering IUU fishing.
  • Swiss Re’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Christian Mumenthaler, was part of the Climate Leaders panel session at the 2019 World Economic Forum, as well as quoted in an article for Reactions magazine. He continues to be outspoken and action-oriented on mitigating climate change, having indicated that speed, industry-wide collaboration and taking a long-term view are key in enabling the critically important transition to a low-carbon economy.