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Our positions

Creating positive outcomes taking economic, social and environmental considerations into account

Our positions on sustainability issues in our investment, underwriting and operations

How do we define sustainability issues?

Sustainability issues are often systemic, complex and evolving so it is especially important for companies to regularly review the materiality of these issues. Materiality defines why and how certain sustainability issues are important for a company by assessing their importance to stakeholders, both internal and external. The Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) performs a materiality review to define our strategic sustainability priorities and what matters most to us and to our stakeholders.

Zurich’s general approach

Zurich supports actions, behaviors or activities that are consistent with the purpose, values and strategy of the Group.

Zurich takes underwriting and investment decisions aligned with Zurich’s purpose, values and strategy.
When Zurich enters into external commitments, it does so after due consideration of potential business implications and takes appropriate steps to deliver on these commitments to safeguard against possible risks to its reputation.
Zurich has policies in place that define the business activities for which the company has no underwriting or investment appetite.

These policies cover:

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Banned cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines

Fossil fuels

Respecting human rights

Our underwriting approach

Society is facing increasingly interconnected and complex challenges. The insurance industry cannot be a bystander and where appropriate, it must play its role in addressing these challenges as a manager of risk. Failing to do so can have a damaging effect on society, stakeholder trust and the reputation of the insurance industry and its customers. That is why we work with our corporate customers and brokers to better manage sustainability risks and strive to promote best practices.

We believe it is better to engage with customers to understand their business and operations and work together to ensure that responsible and sustainable practices are in place. This enables us to make better-informed decisions on how we can support customers in developing best practices.

We also provide guidance and training for underwriters and other relevant stakeholder groups and have established sustainability risk assessment and referral processes.

Zurich tracks and monitors volumes and types of sustainability risks in business transactions internally within the Group. Significant changes in sustainability performance can be monitored and assessed accordingly.

In addition to the positions followed by the Group described above, we pay special attention to:

While important for the world’s continued economic development, the construction of hydroelectric dams, mining projects and oil and gas production can have significant negative environmental or social impacts if they are not planned and executed in accordance with international best practices. Where providing insurance for such projects, we pay special attention to:

human rights abuses, such as relocation of local communities without due process (including absence of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC))
potential environmental impacts and if operations are located within protected areas

Dam construction: Dams help communities and economies manage water resources for food production, energy generation, flood alleviation and domestic and industrial use. But they can also displace communities, cause adverse environmental impacts and create political risks including the inequitable distribution of benefits.

Mining: Mining provides minerals and metals that underpin economic growth and social welfare. If not managed responsibly, mining operations can have adverse impacts on the environment, host communities and countries.

Oil and gas: The main points are described in the Group’s fossil fuel position.

Responsible investment, ESG integration and impact investing

We believe that proactively integrating sustainability risks and opportunities in our investment decisions will help us to do our job well on a long-term basis (ESG integration). ESG integration – across asset classes, and alongside traditional financial metrics and state-of-the-art risk management practices – helps us to achieve superior risk-adjusted, long-term financial returns.

Our operations

Due to the nature of our business, we are predominantly consumers of services and not products or raw materials. Compared with other industry sectors such as manufacturing, the risks associated with the ESG impact of Zurich’s supply chain are low. Nonetheless, we are committed to effectively managing such issues.