Media releaseZurichJuly 1, 2014

Zurich continues to build resilience against natural hazards

The Z Zurich Foundation 2013 annual report outlines the continued efforts to help communities reduce the impact of floods. The funding pillars of the Z Zurich Foundation are global and local resilience. This is why the foundation continues to support organizations like the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH). In 2014, Z Zurich foundation’s focus will be on promoting the local grants program to a greater extent within Zurich.

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) announces the publication of the Z Zurich Foundation annual report 2013 that offers insight on the work in the three thematic priorities sustainable disaster management, social and economic empowerment and insurance-relevant research and education. Floods currently affect more people globally than any other type of disaster and a recent study led by the Global Climate Forum estimated that, without urgent action, the average annual storm surge damage could rise from between USD 10 billion to USD 40 billion a year today to as much as USD 100 trillion by 2100. Such flooding would affect up to 600 million people around the world, or about five percent of the global population.

In 2013, the focus was particularly on establishing one single alliance by bringing together the individual partners. The common understanding across the alliance will help the communities to become more resilient to flood risk.

Martin Senn, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Z Zurich Foundation, and Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Insurance Group, said, “We believe that our focus on building the resilience of communities against floods and supporting the development of long-term community programs in the countries in which we operate has a key role to play in preparing people and communities for the risks they face.” 

Further information

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Corporate Responsibility is a key part of Zurich’s strategy and supports our mission to help our customers understand and protect themselves from risk. As part of our strategy, we are focusing on our strengths as a business, and on key enablers of success – actions we need to take to achieve our strategic objectives. We think about corporate responsibility in the same way, focusing on seven areas that either make use of our insurance, risk management and investment expertise, or are enablers of Zurich's success. They are:

  • Enhancing community flood resilience (see more on Zurich’s global flood resilience program)
  • Investing our Group assets responsibly (Zurich is a signatory of the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI))
  • Working with our corporate customers to help them understand and manage their corporate responsibility risks
  • Community investment locally and through the Z Zurich Foundation
  • Environmental performance, and health and safety management in our office buildings
  • Diversity and inclusion in our workforce
  • Responsible supply chain management

Zurich participates in the: Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) und FTSE4Good.

Zurich has been a signatory of the UN Global Compact since 2011 and we are committed to making the Global Compact and its principles part of Zurich’s strategy, culture and day-to-day operations.

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