Digital responsibility Digitalisation across the re/insurance value chain is accelerating. It is expected that it will enhance the value provided to customers as well as foster closing of protection gaps. Thus, it is important to actively promote digitalisation to harness these advantages. However, the use of artificial intelligence and digital personal data also raises ethical concerns regarding fairness, inclusion, hardship and solidarity. In this context, we have started to develop our own ethical guidance to enable swift digitalisation in the company, while at the same time ensuring that we maintain customers’ trust, differentiate our services, and safeguard our reputation as a leading re/insurance company.
Additionally, we contributed to the report “Promoting Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Insurance”, published by the Geneva Association (www. genevaassociation.org/research-topics/ digitalization/promoting-responsibleartificial -intelligence-insurance). The publication analysed a selection of ethics guidelines issued by governmental and non-governmental organisations, as well as private companies. It took a close look at the topics of transparency, explainability and fairness, which are particularly complex for re/insurers to interpret and implement. It also explores how to address the key trade-offs that arise in applying these principles.
For Swiss Re’s commitment to data protection and privacy compliance, see page 77.
You can find more information about this event at: www.swissre.com/institute/ conferences/sustainability-leadershipresponsible -investing.html
There is increasing recognition that sustainability can have a significant impact on a company’s financial performance, and it is becoming a crucial consideration in the investment decision-making process.
We were among the first in the re/insurance industry to move close to 100% of our Strategic Asset Allocation to environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmarks. We believe that long-term investors are best equipped to lead the way in embedding sustainability into the conventional investment process, and that bringing key industry participants together to exchange knowledge and experiences is the best way to move the dialogue forward.
With this in mind, on September 12–13, 2019, Swiss Re Institute, together with our
Investor Relations and Asset Management units hosted the “Sustainability Leadership Series – Responsible investing in practice” event, which brought together 80 participants from the investment community, re/insurers, campaign groups, national and international regulatory bodies, academia and policymakers.
Our work with (inter-)governmental agencies to promote effective sustainability responses • In Europe, we continued our engagement with regulators to highlight the important role insurers play in supporting the transition to a lowcarbon, more resource-efficient and sustainable economy in line with the European Green Deal. We provided input to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s (EIOPA) Opinion on Sustainability within Solvency II. Swiss Re participated in climate change-focused regulatory roundtables hosted by EIOPA and the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). In addition, Swiss Re staff attended several leading groups on relevant regulatory topics such as the European Commission Technical Expert Group on ESG benchmarks, PRA/FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) Climate Risk Financial Forum and EIOPA’s Technical Expert Group on Cat Risks.
Our work with (inter-)governmental agencies to share risk management expertise • With Public Sector Solutions, we have a team that works strategically with public-sector bodies to improve risk resilience: – Directly with sovereigns or subsovereigns and their agencies, recently with the Indonesian government to insure its state assets aginst natural disasters; with the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico) to structure an earthquake cat bond; with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to create a reinsurance cover programme for its National Flood Insurance Program; with the government and prefectures of two Chinese provinces to establish major natural catastrophe insurance schemes, and with the UK government as part of a programme set up to make flood insurance more affordable for homeowners
• – With development agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the German Development Bank (KfW)
Working with academic institutions Through Swiss Re Institute (find out more on page 49), we build and manage partnerships with world-class academic and research institutions, guide Swiss Re’s internal capital allocation and business steering processes, and provide our stakeholders with cuttingedge risk research.
• We support EPFL on its Center for Digital Trust (www.c4dt.org/), which aims to create a technical, legal and ethical framework that delivers strong guarantees and reduces the cost of achieving trust in the digital world.
• We collaborate with the Center for Interacting Urban Networks at NYUAD (nyuad.nyu.edu/en/research/centerslabs -and-projects/center-for-interactingurban -networks.html), which aims at promoting fundamental research that can ultimately be translated into pragmatic ideas for increasing the livability of our cities.
• With the University of Peking in Beijing (www.pku.edu.cn) we carry out an economic analysis on the health status of the middle-aged and elderly in China.
For our participation in the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climaterelated Financial Disclosures, see page 152.
You can find out more about our engagement in the Swiss Climate Foundation at: www.swissre.com/sustainability/ footprint/partner-initiative-swissclimate -foundation.html
You can find out more about our certification from the 2000-Watt society at: www.swissre.com/sustainability/ footprint/2000-watt-society.html
Furthermore, we apply sustainability guidelines to our sourcing activities. Extending our efforts beyond our company, we continue to play an active role in the Swiss Climate Foundation.
Complementing the ISO 14001 certification of our Group-wide EMS, we have achieved ISO 50001 certification for the energy management system of our main locations in the EU.
In 2019, we made a major new commitment: to reach net-zero emissions in our own operations by 2030. This is an ambitious goal. It requires us to double down on our efforts to cut emissions and to shift from conventional carbon offsetting to carbon removal. On pages 60 and 62 you can find out more about our net-zero commitment and our early engagement in the nascent carbon removal market.
In line with the Scope 2 Guidance of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, we report the emissions associated with our electricity consumption according to both a location-based approach representing the CO2 intensity of the grids where we operate and a market-based method taking into account emission reductions from instruments such as Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and Guarantees of Origin (GOs).
2 In the US, we purchase green-e labelled Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for our total power consumption. 3 The UK government claims all green credentials of renewable electricity produced in the country.
4 Our next biggest power consumption is India with 7% and Slovakia with 4% of the Group’s total consumption.
Change in % since 2013 1 Calculation based on a market-based approach taking into account the purchase of renewable energy instruments, with the exception of the UK, where the government requires companies to report an average grid factor (see table at the bottom for our reporting of emissions from electricity).
Climate change has been Swiss Re’s most important sustainability issue for some 30 years. It is a key topic for a re/insurer because it leads to more extreme and more frequent weather events. Reflecting this, “Mitigating climate risk and advancing the energy transition” is one of the three ambitions of our enhanced Group Sustainability Strategy (see pages 9–13).
We originally launched the Greenhouse Neutral Programme in 2003 for a ten-year period. During that time, we gradually reduced our CO2 emissions by 49.3% per employee (FTE) and compensated all the remaining emissions.
Using renewable power Purchasing power from renewable rather than conventional sources has been a principal measure of our Greenhouse Neutral Programme. Concluding a gradual build-up that started in 2005, we are now using 100% renewable power at all of the Group’s locations where it is available in reliable and trustworthy quality (ie at a total of 30 locations in Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania). This means that approximately 92% of our total power consumption came from renewable sources at the end of 2019.
To assess the quality of the renewable power available in individual locations and select suitable sources, we use a Minimum Standard that clearly states how we define renewable power and what requirements it needs to meet.
(eg at Armonk, Swiss Re Next in Zurich) • Indirect investments via long-term virtual power purchase agreements from newly built plants
For the current phase of our Greenhouse Neutral Programme from 2013 until 2020, our goal is to continuously reduce our energy intensity by 2% per year. At the end of 2019, the total reduction we had reached since 2013 was 39.0%. We partly achieved this by decommissioning existing office buildings and moving into more energy-efficient ones.
RE100 and EP100 At the end of 2019, approximately 92% of the power we purchased across the Group came from renewable energy sources. We are committed to raising this figure to 100%, which is why we helped establish the Climate Group’s RE100 initiative in 2014 as a founding member.
The goal of this initiative is to unite the world’s most influential companies in a shared commitment to use 100% renewable power by 2020. To achieve this, the RE100 group approaches policymakers and regulators at national and sub-national level to make renewable energy more available. RE100 grew substantially again in 2019 and now includes more than 220 of the world’s largest companies. www.theRE100.org
Going beyond these collective efforts, we have recently started to build solar power plants at our own offices.
• Fully offset the remaining emissions • Continuously reduce energy intensity (power consumption and heating) by 2% per year (kWh/FTE)
We have also continued our efforts to create more flexible and modern office environments that offer our employees optimal working conditions while, at the same time, using space and resources more effectively. The spread of digital communication and devices makes it possible to work seamlessly across different locations and devices, creating the foundation for a more flexible and informal workplace setup that encourages teamwork. At Swiss Re Next in Zurich, for example, this open-workplace concept is a key feature. Although further reducing our environmental footprint is not the primary driver of these efforts, their potential to lower the energy intensity of our locations is nevertheless substantial.
Minimising business travel As a result of the substantial cuts we have achieved in CO2 emissions from power consumption and heating since 2003, business travel easily constitutes Swiss Re’s largest emission source today. Since the business trips our employees take are ultimately driven by client needs, they are difficult to influence. However, we have taken several measures to reduce the need for business travel and to curb unnecessary business trips.
As part of our commitment to net-zero emissions, we will replace the existing internal carbon price on air travel through a stringent carbon steering levy (see page 60).
Offsetting our remaining CO2 emissions The second commitment of our Greenhouse Neutral Programme is to compensate all CO2 emissions we cannot yet avoid. For the seven emission sources covered by it, we bought and retired Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) as well as a first batch of third-party verified carbon removal certificates for a total of 76 340 tonnes of CO2e in 2019. To meet our commitment to net-zero emissions, we will gradually need to switch from conventional carbon offsetting to carbon removal (see pages 60 and 62).
External verification of our CO₂ reporting Ever since we first launched our Greenhouse Neutral Programme in 2003, we have disclosed our CO2 emissions, their principal sources and relative performance over time. The method we use to calculate our emissions is based on the guidelines of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the most widely used emissions accounting standard (www.ghgprotocol.org/).
Before our emission figures are published, PricewaterhouseCoopers checks them to verify our calculations. Their complete assurance report for the whole Sustainability Report is included on pages 82–83.
Furthermore, as a signatory to the UN Global Compact (www.unglobalcompact.org/), we are committed to honouring all its ten principles. Amongst other things, these prohibit any sort of discrimination or the use of child or forced labour, and require that the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining be upheld. These principles of the UN Global Compact are incorporated into our Code of Conduct by reference and specifically cover our 76 340 Tonnes of CO2e compensated in 2019, thereof 100 tonnes through carbon removal certificates
Share of our tier 1 and 2 vendors ESG-assessed by end of 2019
relationships with external service providers under the headings of human rights, labour conditions, environmental impacts and anti-corruption.
In 2003, Swiss Re committed to become greenhouse neutral with the intention to compensate any unavoided emissions through the purchase of CO2 reduction certificates, or carbon offsets. Greenhouse neutrality was a thought-leading concept at the time. Carbon offset markets as we know them today did not yet exist, so Swiss Re invested in a fund specifically set up to help develop CO2 reduction projects and issue the resulting offsets to its investors. We chose the Community Development Carbon Fund (CDCF) run by the World Bank, as it was the first fund designed not only to generate emission reductions, but also community benefits through the projects it finances: access to clean water, improved health conditions, creation of jobs, women empowerment and more.
By 2008, carbon offset markets had matured to the point where we were able to buy enough offsets to compensate all our outstanding emissions back to 2003. Over time, labels and standards had emerged that guaranteed the quality of offsets in terms of accountability, social and environmental safeguards etc. We have exclusively supported Gold Standardcertified projects (www.goldstandard.org), which means they have come with the same level of co-benefits as the CDCF projects. To fund our offsetting campaign according to the “polluter pays” principle, in 2014 we introduced a small levy on our employees’ business flights.
In 2019, Swiss Re committed to achieve net-zero emissions in our own operations by 2030 (for details, see page 60). This major new commitment requires us to move away from conventional carbon offsets, where we pay others to avoid their emissions in our place, as this type of compensation is not enough to reach net-zero emissions. Instead, unavoided emissions need to be compensated through carbon removal (see illustration below).
1 tonne of CO2 emitted elsewhere 2 tonnes of CO2 emitted 1 tonne of CO2 emitted + =
Prior to 2003: no emissions compensation strategy in place 2003–2020: compensation through conventional carbon offsetting
From 2020 we will take a multi-layered and integrated approach to sustainable supply chain management, using various solutions to assess and screen suppliers and supply networks against sustainability criteria.
Biochar production is a promising method to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Mixed with soil, biochar particles endure for centuries and improve plant growth by retaining moisture and nutrients.
Engaging our people We are an organisation where diverse talents come together globally to apply fresh perspectives and knowledge to make the world more resilient.
Swiss Re is a global company with a presence in all major markets and more than 30 countries. As of 31 December 2019, we employed 15 401 people (regular staff) from 115 nationalities, equalling 14 737 full-time equivalents. 62.1% work in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 22.2% in the Americas and 15.7% in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
This represents growth of 3% compared to 2018, mainly in the EMEA and APAC regions, and a reduction in the Americas. It is in line with the evolution of our business and our focus on growth in new markets. The fastest growing locations are our shared service centres in Bratislava, Slovakia and Bangalore, India, which provide us with access to new talent pools.
We have seen an increase in voluntary attrition in the last few years and witness higher attrition rates in markets such as Bangalore and Bratislava where generation Y employees represent 86.7% and 84.7% of the workforce, respectively. The average tenure of Swiss Re employees remains high at slightly more than seven years, testament to the engaging and fulfilling work environment we seek to offer. (For detailed geographical data on attrition rate and tenure, see table to the right.)
You can learn more about job opportunities at Swiss Re at: careers.swissre.com/
Swiss Re has a clear People Strategy that sets out what we want to achieve in order to create an environment that enables each of our employees to give their personal best. We regard our People Strategy as our “North Star”: It provides us with clarity and direction, it is embedded in everything we do and defines our ambition for the future of Swiss Re.
• Empower and collaborate: We empower and enable our people to make decisions and drive performance, while at the same time ensuring that we maintain an appropriate risk culture. We encourage all employees to work together and collaborate across organisational and geographical boundaries for the wider benefit of Swiss Re.
Swiss Re is committed to collecting and responding to employee feedback, as it helps us understand where we are on the journey to bring our People Strategy with its four core themes to life. This is one way in which we measure progress, but we also use a set of key performance indicators to provide us with a comprehensive picture.
In our People Strategy, we put a strong focus on developing our leaders, our leadership pipeline and our employees at all levels. In addition, we offer various programmes to young adults moving into the workforce, the most prominent being our awardwinning graduates@swissre programme.
For senior leaders, we launched the new CEO-sponsored Pathfinder Experience Programme to build a community of change catalysts who will reinforce the agile, forward-looking principles described above. We also developed the Explorer Programme for our leadership talents, which enables them to take on additional leadership responsibilities and to lead in an ambiguous and dynamic environment.
We firmly believe in the 70/20/10 approach to learning. It advocates a blended approach to learning, consisting of actions that reflect “on-the-job experiences”, eg rotations and stretch assignments (70%), “learning from others”, eg mentoring and coaching (20%) and structured learning (10%).
With more than 1100 employees, largely millennials, our Bangalore team has adopted a holistic approach to continuous learning, while putting a special focus on early leadership development initiatives, including a social responsibility programme. Ensuring that all its employees understand Swiss Re’s value chain and helping them to be “future ready” has been enabled through different trainings and by encouraging job rotations and job movements across regions and functions. Our ambition to truly live “diversity and inclusion” has translated into offerings such as gender intelligence workshops, female mentorship programmes and LGBTI+ integration.
Through the introduction of LearningOne, we have reduced classroom training (see table to the left), but continue to offer courses on topics where the focus is more on practising than on knowledge transfer. These topics include sales, negotiation and presentation skills, emotional intelligence and interpersonal effectiveness, change management and leadership skills.
Our innovative approach to learning has been recognised externally through multiple awards. We are especially proud of the NASSCOM award we received in India, one of our fastest growing locations where learning is crucial to our success (see above). NASSCOM (www.nasscom.in/) is the premier trade body and chamber of commerce of the tech industry in India and comprises over 2800 member companies, including Indian as well as multinational organisations with a presence in India.
In 2019, our Global Business Solution Centre Bangalore was recognised for “Excellence in Learning & Skills Development” at the NASSCOM Global Capability Centres Conclave.
In 2019, our graduates@swissre programme again won an award from TheJobCrowd (www.thejobcrowd.com), with first place in the Banking & Finance category. TheJobCrowd is a popular job review website for graduates in the UK.
Our graduates recognise our strong focus on their development, which helped us win an award from TheJobCrowd for the fourth year in a row (see above).
Our graduates@swissre programme offers university graduates from across the globe the opportunity to discover the exciting world of a leading global re/insurer. In 2019, the programme won an award from TheJobCrowd for the fourth year in a row.
The balanced compensation package is generally complemented by competitive pension plans and other employee benefits. Such benefits include, for example, the Continuous Contribution Award, which recognises the loyalty, commitment and continuous contribution of our employees by offering them opportunities at defined milestones to enjoy additional paid time-off. Health benefits and financial protection in case of ill health are a further important part of many of our packages. We provide medical, life and disability insurance in excess of state provisions in most locations. Furthermore, we support employees in accumulating retirement benefits to supplement any state provisions.
Further information on Swiss Re’s approach to compensation and benefits can be found in our 2019 Financial Report (pages 120–149).
You can find out more about our Own the Way You Work programme at: www.swissre.com/about-us/diversityinclusion -in-Swiss-Re/own-the-wayyou -work.html
Promoting an inclusive culture We know that our employees’ lives and experiences are unique, and we believe in championing that uniqueness. Uniqueness in leadership and in thought – in fact, in every way we work together and live our values. A key aspect of our People Strategy is to prevent stereotyping of individuals based on any dimension of diversity. The philosophy of managing and attracting diverse talent is fully embedded in our development offering for managers.
Swiss Re is committed to provide an equal and safe work environment for LGBTI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) employees, and is a signatory to the United Nation’s Free & Equal Standards of Conduct to tackle discrimination against LGBTI+ people. In the last two years, we have equalised our leave (parental & bereavement), gift and insured (medical, death & critical illness) benefits for our employees and their partners: all of these benefits now extend to LGBTI+ partners as well as unmarried heterosexual partners across our locations globally – for the few locations where a significant cultural or legal barrier still exists, we continue to work on solutions.
Our global Together with Pride employee network comprises over 1 000 allies and LGBTI+ employees and has active local chapters in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, Slovakia, Switzerland, the UK and the US. To honour Pride Month, we decorated our buildings in different locations with rainbow colours to show our support for the LGBTI+ community.
In the US, the new employee resource group Mosaic was launched to promote an inclusive environment for people of colour, with the aim of enhancing their professional and personal development. Nearly 500 colleagues across the Americas joined the event virtually and in-person to engage on the topic of allyship as a driver of inclusion.
We recognise that women continue to be underrepresented at executive/senior management levels, as shown in the table below. The figures have been improving but not as fast as we had hoped. Our Group Executive Committee (Group EC) members are committed to driving this change, and closely monitor the talent flows in their respective units and locations to actively improve the situation.
You can find out more about our efforts to improve gender balance at: www.swissre.com/about-us/diversityinclusion -in-Swiss-Re/gender-balance. html
You can find out more about our efforts to foster an inclusive culture at: www.swissre.com/about-us/diversityinclusion -in-Swiss-Re/inclusive-culture. html
One question was whether our employees have plenty of good things to say about Swiss Re, another whether they recommend Swiss Re as an employer. We are pleased that both questions scored excellent results: 72% (2 percentage points higer than in 2018) and 74% (1 percentage point higher), respectively.
You can learn more about the Swiss Re Alumni Network at: www.swissre.com/about-us/sr-alumninetwork. html
Slovakia Average number of sick days per head 5.3 5.2 5.6 Average number of active employees 1 116 1 276 1 431 Number of employees who have recorded absence due to illness 958 1’110 1’295
Pathways, our mental health network, has the mission of allowing employees to bring their whole selves to work, to allow them to feel accepted and included and to reduce the stigma potentially surrounding mental health issues. Since 2017 the network has been instrumental in raising awareness and a better understanding by creating a network of mental health champions and organising first aid trainings, lunch & learns, talks and educational videos available to all. A few highlights from 2019 activities include: a mental health TEDx co-organised by Swiss Re in Bangalore; a session on mental health awareness and stress at work in Armonk; a mental health awareness week in Folkestone and London; stress management seminars in Bratislava; and mindfulness practice sessions in Zurich.
We monitor absences due to illness (see table below showing sick leave days in Switzerland, Slovakia and India over the last three years) and respond to negative trends when they occur.
In general, our employees can count on diverse options, such as additional family allowance, one-off childbirth allowance, additional paid maternity and paternity leave, or the option to take unpaid leave. These benefits are tailored to the local needs of our workforce and therefore differ from region to region.
Ensuring good corporate governance and compliance Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have grown in importance and become the key focus areas in Europe, the US and other jurisdictions.
In our Sustainability Report, we provide a short overview on Swiss Re’s corporate governance framework. For full details, please see our 2019 Financial Report, pages 80–117.
Corporate governance framework Swiss Re’s corporate governance framework ensures sustainability, fosters transparency and a quality assessment of the Swiss Re Group’s organisation and business.
The Board of Directors has the ultimate responsibility for the success of Swiss Re Ltd (SRL) and the Swiss Re Group within a framework of effective and prudent controls. It is responsible for the overall direction, supervision and control of SRL and the Swiss Re Group and of the Group Executive Committee (Group EC) as well as for supervising compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. Such responsibilities are non-transferable and rest with the entire Board. At least three-quarters of the members of the Board of Directors must be independent members. SRL defines independence in line with best-practice corporate governance standards. The Board of Directors has delegated the management of SRL and the Swiss Re Group to the Group EC.
Swiss Re’s Code of Conduct provides key principles that guide Swiss Re in making responsible decisions and achieving results using the highest ethical standards (see section "Compliance: Code of Conduct" to the right).
Swiss Re’s Corporate Governance Guidelines provide Swiss Re’s harmonised governance principles and standards ensuring a consistent and tailored corporate governance approach across the Swiss Re Group.
The Articles of Association define the legal and organisational framework of SRL as the Group’s holding company. The Bylaws define the governance framework of SRL and the Group, including the responsibilities and authorities of the Board of Directors, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Lead Independent Director, Board committees, Group EC, Group CEO and of the other individual Group EC members including the Regional Presidents, as well as the relevant reporting procedures. The Board Committee Charters outline the duties and responsibilities of the six Board Committees: Chairman’s and Governance Committee, Nomination Committee, Compensation Committee, Audit Committee, Finance and Risk Committee and Investment Committee.
We regularly review and update the Code to reflect changes in regulations and principles. The Code was overhauled in 2016 to include real-life examples and clearer guidance for day-to-day business situations. In 2019, updates were made to the Code, among others to reflect Swiss Re’s commitment to deliver products and services that create long-term value. The Code is supported by detailed policies and standards that document Swiss Re’s requirements in line with applicable laws and regulations. It is available to our employees in eight languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Slovak and Spanish.
By adhering to the highest standards, we ensure behaviour across the Group that is compliant and demonstrates integrity.
• Communication • Conflicts of interest • Diversity & inclusion and fair and equal treatment • Fraud • Health, safety and security • Intellectual property
Our Global Framework on Anti-money Laundering, supported by a Global Policy on Financial Crime and our Global Standard on Anti-money Laundering sets out in detail key requirements and guidance in relation to our anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing efforts, including due-diligence obligations concerning “know your counterparty”, counterparty and politically exposed persons (PEP) screening, and the reporting of any suspicious activities.
In 2018, the Global Standard on Anti-money Laundering was updated to align process requirements of the framework to Swiss Re’s business operating model. The Global Framework on Anti-money Laundering was updated to distinguish between key requirements described in the Global Standard on Anti-money Laundering and related processes described in the Global Anti-money Laundering Process Document. Updates to anti-money laundering process documents for specific business operating units were also performed to further support the framework.
There are several ways in which alleged violations of the Code can be reported, both by internal and external sources. For our employees, the options are described in the Code and include an external, independently operated whistleblowing hotline, which can be used anonymously (where legally permitted). Our whistleblowing hotline is also available to externals via our public website. The hotline includes translation services into numerous languages and is available globally.
You can learn more about our global approach to data protection and privacy at: www.swissre.com/about-us/dataprotection -brochure.html
• Of the 74 cases closed in 2019, 64% were substantiated and 36% were not substantiated.
• Of the 93 cases that were investigated, 31% were due to the actions of external actors and 69% were due to the actions of internal personnel.
• Disciplinary actions, including termination, written warnings, verbal warnings and performance rating adjustments, were taken in 38% of substantiated cases. The relatively low percentage of such actions should not be taken as an indication of a weak Compliance culture. It is important to note that each investigation is fact- and circumstance-specific. There are certain circumstances where disciplinary actions are nearly always imposed, such as where active employees are found to have engaged in intentional misconduct. However, there are also circumstances where allegations would be considered substantiated but may not lead to disciplinary action, such as cases involving unintentional breaches, cases where the perpetrator(s) cannot be identified, and cases involving external Fraud. In these cases rather than disciplinary action, other forms of resolution are mandated such as: additional training activities or increased supervision.
• In each case, regardless of the outcome, we ensure that any lessons learned from the investigation are communicated within the Compliance function as well as to any relevant stakeholders. In addition, we ensure that training and communications are updated, and controls and processes are adapted as necessary.
Training All new permanent and temporary employees joining Swiss Re must undergo mandatory eLearning training. In June 2019, a new Compliance eLearning for all new employees was launched. The eLearning focuses on the Code and additional ethical behaviour in accordance with Swiss Re’s values. It also includes individual modules on the following compliance topics: • Anti-bribery and corruption • Anti-money laundering and terrorist financing • Conflicts of interest • Data protection • Fraud • Fair competition • Insider trading • International trade controls and economic sanctions • Licensing
Completion of the training is tracked and instances of non-completion are escalated until resolution.
In addition, we deliver mandatory global eLearnings to remind and increase understanding of our key compliance risks and policy requirements. Last year, global eLearnings were delivered on Fraud Awareness and Anti-money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. We also conducted global eLearnings on the following compliance risks over the period from 2016 to 2019: • Anti-bribery and corruption • Fair competition • Conflicts of interest • Licensing and permanent establishment • Data protection • International trade controls and economic sanctions
Training on Code topics falling outside the Compliance mandate is managed similarly by the responsible functional areas.
Policy governance A Policy Management Tool serves as a central place for finding Swiss Re policies and standards. Eight Global Policies contain more detailed principles all employees have to be aware of, supporting the principles set out in the Code. Where necessary, underlying Global Standards are in place to provide additional detail on the specific requirements.
Providing transparency On some specific topics, we provide transparency by publishing full policies or statements on our website.
At the Swiss Re Foundation we are able to amplify our impact by inspiring Swiss Re’s employees to support our partners with their time and know-how. By participating in our skills-based volunteering initiatives and Community Days, they can experience resilience-building outside their daily business in hands-on situations.WEBSITE
You can find detailed information about the Swiss Re Foundation at: www.swissrefoundation.org
For the 2019 Swiss Re Foundation Entrepreneurs for Resilience Award, we chose Kenya-based CarePay as the winner. CarePay has developed a mobile wallet that lets people save, pay for and manage healthcare using a single app.
The Swiss Re Foundation in 2019 Illness and disease are universal, whilst access to healthcare is not. The Swiss Re Foundation is partnering with Living Goods, a pioneer in digital health solutions, to strengthen healthcare delivery in poor, rural areas of Kenya by recruiting and training community health workers who bring quality healthcare right to people’s doorsteps.
To the Executive Management of Swiss Re Ltd, Zurich (Swiss Re) We have been engaged to perform a limited assurance engagement on the consolidated CO2 emissions reporting and Sustainability topics and sections disclosed with the 2019 Swiss Re Sustainability Report (“Sustainability Report 2019”) as well with the 2019 Swiss Re Financial Report.
Scope and subject matter Our engagement focused on the following data and information disclosed in the Sustainability Report 2019 and Financial Report 2019 of Swiss Re and its consolidated subsidiaries, for the financial year ended 31 December 2019: • The management and reporting processes with respect to the consolidated sustainability reporting as well as the control environment in relation to the aggregation of data and information; • The organizational measures and internal key controls in place at the corporate level regarding aggregation of information obtained from the subsidiaries and reporting functions; • The consolidated data and information disclosed in the Sustainability Report 2019 in the sections “Creating solutions for sustainability” on pages 22–31, “Extending our risk intelligence” on pages 32–39, “Being a responsible investor” on pages 40–47, “Engaging in dialogue with our stakeholders” on pages 48–55, “Reducing our footprint” on pages 56–63, “Engaging our people” on pages 64–73 and “Compliance: Code of Conduct” on pages 76–78; • The consolidated CO2 emissions 2019 (Scope 1, 2 and 3 in adherence with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol) in the tables of the Sustainability Report 2019 entitled “CO2 emissions per employee (full-time equivalent, FTE), Swiss Re Group” on page 58, “Underlying environmental data, Swiss Re Group” on page 58 and “Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, Swiss Re Group” on page 58 in the Sustainability Report 2019 covering the reporting period from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019; • The retirement of 76 340 tonnes of CO2e (CO2 equivalents) described on page 61 of the Sustainability Report 2019.
• The defined internal guidelines, by which sustainability data and information are internally gathered, collated and aggregated.
Swiss Re’s responsibility The Executive Management of Swiss Re is responsible for both the subject matter and the criteria as well as for selection, preparation and presentation of the selected information in accordance with the criteria. This responsibility includes the design, implementation and maintenance of related internal control relevant to the calculation of the sustainability indicators that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Our responsibility Our responsibility is to express a limited assurance conclusion on the sustainability indicators based on the procedures we have performed and the evidence we have obtained. We conducted our limited assurance engagement in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (revised), “Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information”, and, in respect of greenhouse gas emissions, with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3410, “Assurance Engagements on Greenhouse Gas Statements”, issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. These standards require that we plan and perform this engagement to obtain limited assurance about whether the identified sustainability indicators are free from material misstatement.
A limited assurance engagement undertaken in accordance with ISAE 3000 (revised) and ISAE 3410 involves assessing the suitability in the circumstances of Swiss Re’s use of applicable criteria as the basis for the preparation of the sustainability data and information, assessing the risks of material misstatement of the sustainability data and information whether due to fraud or error, responding to the assessed risks as necessary in the circumstances, and evaluating the overall presentation of sustainability data and information. A limited assurance engagement is substantially less in scope than a reasonable assurance engagement in relation to both the risk assessment procedures, including an understanding of internal control, and the procedures performed in response to the assessed risks. The procedures selected depend on the assurance practitioner’s judgement.
Our independence and quality controls We are independent of the Swiss Re in accordance with the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA Code) that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements and other assurance engagements in Switzerland. We have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with the IESBA Code.
Our firm applies International Standard on Quality Control 1 and accordingly maintains a comprehensive system of quality control including documented policies and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Summary of the work performed Our assurance procedures included, amongst others, the following work: • Evaluation of the application of
Conclusion Based on our work described in this report, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the sustainability data and information outlined in the scope and subject matter section has not been prepared, in all material aspects, in accordance with suitable criteria.
Listed here is a selection of Swiss Re’s most important memberships, commitments and index listings with regard to corporate responsibility.
European Commission’s Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG) The TEG assists the European Commission in the development of a unified classification system for sustainable economic activities, an EU green bond standard, methodologies for low-carbon indices, and metrics for climate-related disclosure sustainable-finance-technical-expertgroup_en
FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. Its Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) has developed voluntary, consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to investors, lenders, insurers and other stakeholders. www.fsb-tcfd.org
Insurance Development Forum (IDF) The IDF is a public/private partnership led by the insurance industry and supported by international organisations. It aims to optimise and extend the use of insurance and its related risk management capabilities to build greater resilience and protection for people, communities, businesses, and public institutions that are vulnerable to disasters and their associated economic shocks. In 2019, we endorsed IDF's commitments to increase insurance protection in climateexposed countries. www.insdevforum.org/
Klimastiftung Schweiz (Swiss Climate Foundation) The Swiss Climate Foundation is a voluntary initiative by business for business. The Foundation’s mission is to promote climate protection and strengthen Switzerland and Liechtenstein as business locations. Swiss Re is one of the foundation’s members and is sponsoring its managing director. www.klimastiftung.ch/en/
Paris Pledge for Action By joining the Paris Pledge for Action, businesses, cities, civil society groups, investors, regions, trade unions and other signatories have promised to ensure that the ambition set out by the Paris Agreement is met or exceeded to limit global temperature rise to less than 2°C. www.parispledgeforaction.org/
Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) The PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. It works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. www.unpri.org/
Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) Launched at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, the UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) serve as a global framework for the insurance industry to address environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities. www.unepfi.org/psi/
Contact address Sustainability, Emerging and Political Risk Management Martin Weymann Telephone +41 43 285 9555 Martin_Weymann@swissre.com
Photographs: GettyImages (Cover and pages 8, 22, 24, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 40, 43, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 75) Marc Wetli (p. 2) Braschler/Fischer (p. 3) Swiss Re (pages 6, 11, 25, 29, 54, 65) Société du Grand Paris; Gérard Rollando (p. 26) Brenner Basistunnel BBT SE (p. 26) Mirella Mellonmaa (p. 63) NASSCOM (p. 67) Fredi Lienhardt Photography (p. 68) CarePay (p. 81)
This report is printed on sustainably produced paper. The wood used comes from forests certified to 100% by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).