Foreword from the Executive Board
Ladies and gentlemen,
Chairman of the
Executive Board
With the release of this publication, it is my considerable pleasure to present to you our company’s Sustainability Report.
We are all looking back on some tumultuous months. Since March, Covid-19 has dominated public and private life around the world, and doubtless there can only be very few people who have not been affected by the spread of the virus. Our condolences go out to all those who have lost family or friends, and we would like to express our sympathy to all those who have been affected by the virus in any other way.
For us, as a company, there have been and continue to be appreciable impacts. Protecting the health of our employees and their families is the highest priority for myself, my colleagues on the Board, and the entire organisation. I am grateful that within a very short space of time, we were able to put in place the necessary framework conditions for systematically pursuing this goal, and optimally supporting our colleagues in these difficult times. A large part of our workforce continues to work from home, a transition that fortunately passed off smoothly thanks to our good technical readiness. Be that as it may, the lockdown and the ongoing protracted restrictions are posing major challenges for many people. In this respect, it was only natural that we would implement supportive measures on which we report in our section on “Employees”.
In our business operations, we have so far come through the crisis well – despite all the uncertainties associated with the pandemic – thanks to our robust risk management and our company’s good positioning. Our solid business model is designed to withstand extreme events and, as a reliable partner, we continue to stand ready to support our clients to the fullest extent.
It remains to be seen whether Covid-19 changes the world on a lasting basis. There can, however, be no question that the natural world, people, and the economy are directly interrelated. There is also no doubt that megatrends existed even before Covid-19 that pose a serious threat to the world as a whole, to different regions, and also to individuals, and these threats need to be urgently addressed.
For many years, scientists have been warning of the adverse impacts of climate change. In the insurance industry, too, correlations with the occurrence of extreme weather phenomena and natural disasters are a hotly discussed topic – one which is, of course, also considered extensively in our risk management systems. In 2019, we conducted an internal study on the risks posed by climate change. In addition, we participate in a range of initiatives and also contribute to external studies, so as to promote the greatest possible transfer of know-how.
In our own business, too, we took significant steps in 2019. In addition to the exclusion criteria that have applied since 2012, we no longer invest in issuers that generate 25% or more of their turnover from coal mining, coal-based energy generation, or oil sands extraction. We have already scaled back relevant exposures. In April 2019, we took a conscious decision with respect to stand-alone risks to no longer provide insurance coverage for any planned new coal-fired power plants or thermal coal mines. With effect from February 2020, we also no longer accept any new stand-alone risks in our facultative division for companies that hold more than 20% of their oil reserves in oil sands. Above and beyond this, we are aiming for a progressive withdrawal from existing risks of this type, such that by the year 2038, we will no longer cover any coal-based risks connected with mining and power generation in our entire book of property and casualty insurance business.
As an internationally operating insurer, it is our mission and our duty to minimise risks for society, and mitigate possible consequences. We accomplish this with our range of insurance products and through our close cooperation with our primary insurance partners. Yet in some markets, where not everyone has sufficient access to insurance solutions, there is a protection gap. Among the steps taken to reach such population groups, we partner with government and private institutions to develop and offer solutions tailored to specific target groups. We report on all measures relating to our core business in the chapter entitled “Product responsibility”.
Permit me, if I may, to say a few words now about our sustainability management. Here, too, we have an eventful year behind us – although this time, I look back and to the future with satisfaction and pride. Since May 2020, we have been a participant in the United Nations Global Compact; in this connection, from now on, we shall also report in our publications on our commitment and measures in support of the ten principles. Similarly, we officially recognised the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation for 100% of our workforce in June. Our materiality analysis was completely revised in the first half of 2020 with the invaluable support of internal and external stakeholders. On this basis, we are currently developing our Sustainability Strategy 2021-2023, which I shall be unveiling to you in October 2020. As part of this strategy, we shall address both the principles of the Global Compact and the issue of climate change. We have also made further progress in our operations. Since 2019, we have fully offset our emissions from air travel, which account for roughly 96.5% of our calculated emissions, not only for our German head office, but also for our locations in Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, and Shanghai.
Dear readers, enough of these introductory words. I would now like to warmly encourage you to learn more about our sustainable actions on the basis of the present report, and I wish you some fascinating and stimulating reading.
With kind regards,
Yours,
Jean-Jacques Henchoz
Chairman of the Executive Board