Sustainability highlights 2023

One of the goals of the refurbishment of Zurich Portugal’s head office, in Lisbon, was to create a greater focus on sustainable mobility. It was achieved by installing 61 electric vehicle charging points.

Since the project started in June 2023, almost 10,000 kWh have been consumed by mainly hybrid plug-in vehicles. Employees have welcomed the charging points as they can charge their cars for free.

Carlos Fonseca, Chief Operating Officer at Zurich Portugal: “We’ve carried out the refurbishment of our headquarters with sustainability and wellbeing in mind and as such, also applied for a WELL Certification, which is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing.”

The Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance (the Alliance) was launched ten years ago and now operates in more than 330 communities in some of the world’s most flood prone areas. In the past five years alone, its work has impacted over 3.1 million people and helped steer over USD 1.26 billion of funding towards flood resilience, exceeding the targets communicated in 2019.

The Alliance, funded by the Z Zurich Foundation, puts communities at the center of its work, with a focus on strengthening prevention capacities. A crucial part of that work is to gather meaningful information and insights from flood-affected communities in order to best focus policy and spending. In January 2023, the Foundation also launched the Urban Climate Resilience Program (UCRP) in nine countries around the world: Australia, Colombia, Ecuador, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the U.S. The UCRP builds upon the Alliance’s climate change work in mostly rural environments and expands into urban spaces.

In 2023, Alliance partner Plan International, launched an initiative in the Philippines with young people, aged 17-24, to give them a voice in decision-making. The initiative takes place in some of the highest risk barangays (communities) in the National Capital Region, involving three in Manila City and four in Navotas City.

The Alliance and many of its members attended COP28 in the United Arab Emirates to share expertise and advocate for the needs of flood prone communities across the globe. Two events, in particular, focused on climate change adaptation initiatives in Nepal where the Alliance has been active since its launch, working with local governments on the construction of flood-safe shelters, raising granaries, drainage and dikes, promoting early warning systems and conducting mock flood event drills.

The Alliance’s ten-year anniversary was also celebrated in Peru where work has focused on communities vulnerable to landslides and floods in key watersheds in the regions of Piura, Lima and Cusco. Activities in the Rimac river basin include first aid training, the development of family emergency plans and the construction of rain gauges. The project has now reached about 8,000 participants and has contributed to the formation of 31 ‘community brigades’ in the affected areas. The Alliance’s work on early warning systems (EWS) is being scaled nationally. As of December 2023, newly installed EWS are now benefiting about 457,000 people by alerting them of potentially dangerous flooding. Ultimately, the expansion of EWS is expected to impact the lives of over 9.3 million people living in the Rimac watershed.

In Mexico, the Tabasco region was chosen as the initial focus of the Flood Resilience Project due to its high susceptibility to flooding. Since 2013, the Flood Resilience Program has directly benefited more than 10,000 people in Mexico, with a further 300,000 indirectly benefited through large-scale communications, training and replication.

In Indonesia, the inspiring story of Tarudi and Muriah showcases the transformative power of practical solutions in protecting livelihoods in coastal communities in Central Java. Together with Mercy Corps and the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, the Z Zurich Foundation is making a tangible difference in communities worldwide - supporting them in safeguarding lives and livelihoods, and working together to build a more resilient future. The related policy changes associated with the interventions in Indonesia have the potential to impact 1 million people.

At the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019 the Alliance committed to the following which has been achieved: Scaling up work in climate action, including advocating for the generation of an additional USD 1 billion from public and private sources in climate-smart, risk-informed development, which builds resilience. Helping make 2 million people more resilient to flooding. The Alliance will elevate community voices and research findings with international donors and all levels of government to show why increased investment in flood resilience is urgently needed. Engaging with other initiatives, including the Risk Informed Early Action Partnership (REAP) of the Adaptation and Resilience workstream.

A technician installs a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) station next to an old river measurement ruler on a bank of the Vilcanota River, Peru. Implemented by Practical Action, the LiDAR station monitors the river level as part of a network that provides more effective early warning of flood events, giving communities time to prepare and take action.

Photo credit: © Giorgio Madueño, Practical Action, August 2022

Community brigades in Tabasco, Mexico, established with the support of the Mexican Red Cross, conduct training on early warning systems. As well as leading preparation, prevention, and response activities in the face of potential hazards, these volunteer groups are advocating for change with local authorities and other disaster risk management actors.

Photo credit: © Mexican Red Cross, June 2022

As a responsible investor, Zurich uses capital markets to fund solutions to many of the pressing social or environmental issues of our time. Zurich is committed to reduce the carbon intensity of its investment portfolios to net-zero by 2050. We also set intermediate targets for 2025 for listed equity, corporate bond and direct real estate investments. Furthermore, Zurich invests in various climate solutions via impact investment assets around the globe.

Through its private equity investments, Zurich directs its resources to generate positive impact. We follow the Global Impact Investment Network definition of impact investing as investment opportunities that allow us to intentionally target a specific positive social or environmental impact and allow us to measure the impact achieved. These investments target to generate a market-rate financial return commensurate with their risk.

Private equity as an asset class is particularly suited to impact investing. The companies receiving capital from private equity investors usually tend to be small and agile and more easily evaluated against impact objectives. Zurich typically invests in private equity, including impact investments, through fund investments. An in-house specialist team is responsible for selecting private equity fund managers which are then approved by an investment committee overseeing alternative investments. Zurich will generally not consider investing with fund managers targeting below-market financial returns, or first-time fund managers with no proven track record of value creation.

An example is Zurich's investment in a private equity fund that holds equities in NG Group (NG) since 2018.

NG Group is contributing to sustainable development by repurposing waste from households and industries. Its services extend from waste sorting to mass recycling, including separating contaminated and dangerous waste in order to provide appropriate treatment. Such services are essential to ensure that potentially heavy polluting waste is safely processed, and not discarded to have a harmful impact on people or the environment. On the other end of its processing line, NG Group has an ambition and responsibility to ensure that as much waste as possible is sent to recycling and material recovery, and enable access to recycled materials in the market to reduce the pressure on natural resource extraction. This is core to their mission of regenerating resources and abolishing waste and is a major step towards the circular economy. In 2022, Zurich’s investments helped to avoid approximately 12,000 metric tons CO2e through NG Group recycling activities, such as sending waste to recycling and material recovery compared to extracting virgin materials.

The global waste landscape presents a significant challenge with waste generation expected to increase by 70 percent by 2050¹. In Norway, where NG Group is headquartered, a total of 12.07 million tons of waste² was generated in 2022. However, for Zurich and NG Group, the circular economy represents an opportunity to minimize waste, promote reuse, and enhance the use of secondary raw materials in the production of new goods.

With around 20 processing sites across Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Poland, NG Group handles 2.3 million tons of waste annually, of which 96 percent is sent to recycling, material and energy recovery. As one of Scandinavia’s largest providers of recycling and environmental services, serving over 40,000 commercial and municipal customers, its key business areas encompass recycling, green metals, urban re-use, circular and digital solutions, services related to environmentally friendly waste management and raw material extraction throughout the value chain. Zurich's investment in NG Group is aimed at facilitating innovative business models that enable the repurposing, reutilization, and repair of materials already in circulation for a transition to the low carbon economy.

¹ Global Waste to Grow by 70 Percent by 2050 Unless Urgent Action is Taken: World Bank Report ² Waste accounts – SSB

Zurich Switzerland is the insurance partner of H2Energy and supports the company’s goal of establishing hydrogen produced from renewable energy as a cornerstone of the energy system.

Since the start of 2020, 17 new hydrogen filling stations have been built in Switzerland and 47 hydrogen trucks have been put on the road, saving more than 6,700 metric tons of CO2e, as of January 31, 2024. A hydrogen refueling station network in Germany, Austria and Denmark and a gigawatt H2 production facility in Denmark for storing and refining offshore wind energy are in the pipeline.

Zurich Hong Kong partners with a local NGO called ESG Consortium (ESGC), and sponsors 100 small-to-medium size business owners to start disclosing their ESG measures and adopt best practice.

Many of Zurich Hong Kong’s customers, particularly SMEs, lack the expertise to craft transition strategies to a more sustainable business model. Through a collaboration with ESGC, Zurich Hong Kong is supporting customers by sharing its experience within their organizations through sustainability frameworks. The collaboration also provides access for SMEs seeking support regarding potential metrics required under local regulatory requirements.

“The project helps differentiate us in the market as a sustainable insurance provider to our customers who lack the resources and knowledge transitioning into a more sustainable model. These services are rare in the Hong Kong market which enables us to build a more meaningful relationship with our customers, particularly SMEs.” Kannes Wong, Head of Strategy and Planning Hong Kong

Zurich has invested in significant upgrades to the Blue Street Building, its former Australian headquarters, which was originally constructed over four decades ago. The Blue Street building is a sustainable, energy-efficient, 7,800 square meter net lettable, area office tower which is strategically located atop the North Sydney train station with unobstructed views towards the harbor and city.

Zurich expects to achieve a NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) rating of 4.5 stars in the spring of 2024, as the building will be fully occupied. NABERS rating is one of the key assessment tools used in Australia to determine the sustainability measurement of buildings. It measures operational building efficiency across energy, water, waste and the indoor environment.

“The investment by Zurich in the refurbishment of Blue Street demonstrates Zurich’s strong commitment to sustainable investments in the Australian real estate market. This milestone follows the successful completion of the redevelopment of the Mount Street building by Zurich, which exceeded target ratings for both NABERS and Green Star, another internationally recognized rating system for measuring and certifying the development of sustainable buildings,” explained Bill Shaw, Head of Real Estate, Asia Pacific.

 

Zurich has partnered with auticon since 2020, a social enterprise and IT/Data consultancy, which exclusively recruit autistic consultants. This is more than just a path to increased awareness and acceptance of neurodivergence in the workplace. It’s a step towards creating a more inclusive workplace for everyone – including those with autistic traits – and a partnership that recognizes neurodiversity as significant talent.

“Autistic people often possess sought-after skills such as pattern recognition, logical thinking, attention to detail and accuracy,” says Shelley Ferris-Smith, Regional Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging Lead for the EMEA region. Sadly, many businesses fail to attract autistic candidates, or have recruitment processes that exclude them. This isn’t the case at Zurich. Austria and the UK have adapted their interviewing process acknowledging adjustments need to be made to attract neurodivergent talent.

After signing a Global Service Agreement with auticon in May 2021, several countries have worked closely with auticon consultants, including Germany, Switzerland and our ZIP head office in Ireland. Training to build a greater awareness of neurodiversity has been delivered in four countries and will continue in 2024.

Neurodiversity is the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one ‘right’ way of thinking, learning and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits, according to Harvard Health.

Most organizations today now recognize the benefits of a diverse group of people in the workplace, but many don’t extend this to embrace a diverse group of brain types. With an estimated seven million autistic people living in Europe, studies* show that between 75 to 90 percent of autistic adults are unemployed which means potentially missing a huge pool of untapped talent.

Autistic people often have specific needs to ensure comfort and maintain wellbeing. Light, sound and thermal comfort are all examples of this. By making adjustments, we provide a comfortable environment where everyone can thrive. In August, our Quai Zurich Campus achieved the highest level of WELL Certification, the benchmark for buildings that have a positive impact on health and wellbeing. Winning this certification, acknowledges the importance of all employees, both neurodivergent and neurotypical.

“We just need a level of awareness and a willingness to embrace change. The results will speak for themselves,” says Shelley.

* Marco Fasciglione, “Article 27 of the CRPD and the Right of Inclusive Employment of People with Autism” in Protecting the Rights of People with Autism in the Fields of Education and Employment: International, European and National Perspectives, p. 146; Autism-Europe, “I can learn, I can work: Europe-wide awareness-raising campaign 2020-2021” (2021), accessed March 2023; Autism-Europe, Autism and Work: Together we can (Autism-Europe, 2014), p. 53.

 

At the end of 2019, Zurich stated its intention to prioritize employee development and up-skilling over external hires or outsourcing, as part of a commitment towards building a more sustainable future. Since then, these principles have been adopted across the Group, with several positive examples of how this intention has been brought to life.

For example, Zurich Santander – a joint venture between Zurich Insurance Group and Banco Santander, which serves more than 18 million customers in five countries in Latin America and headquarters in Madrid (Spain) – launched a new Talent Acquisition Hub in 2023.

The Hub focuses on making it easier for employees to move to new roles internally as part of their personal development and growth ambitions. This is possible thanks to a continuous effort in communication, both from internal channels like intranet, mailbox and periodic talent newsletter, but also through communication between HR teams and managers.

Sthefanie Fonseca, Head of Talent Management and leader of the hub, explains: “Transparency in our process was hugely valued by employees, knowing that all opportunities are available not only in their countries, but also being able to explore other Zurich Santander geographies if looking for international movement.”

A key supporting factor is Zurich Santander’s intention to publish all vacancies across the Zurich Santander geographies and prioritize internal candidates who apply for these positions.

Juan Manuel Alvarez Zabala, Chief People and Communication Officer at Zurich Santander, said: “This positive approach to internal mobility has encouraged more existing employees to apply for alternative roles, both inside and outside their existing function. This is what we want to encourage from a talent development mindset: to look for different roles in your career path, identify the skills and capabilities required, and work together to develop the ones that need to be taken to the next level.”

In 2024, a Net Promoter Score (NPS) will be introduced for the Hub, something JuanMa is sure will ensure the process continues to be employee-centric.

 

Z Zurich Foundation is at the heart of Zurich’s sustainability framework. And people are at the core of Z Zurich Foundation’s activities. Here are two examples reflecting how this translates in the context of youth mental wellbeing and work readiness.

Joining forces and expertise to improve you people’s mental wellbeing

According to recent research published by NHS Digital, "In 2023, about 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 years has a probable mental disorder” Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2023 - wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey - NHS Digital. Caregivers play an essential role in shaping the development trajectory and wellbeing of young people.

Based on materials developed and being field tested by UNICEF, adapted and digitalized with the support of LiveWell by Zurich, Connecting Generations is a training tool that equips caregivers with essential resources to enhance their understanding of adolescents, support their mental wellbeing, and strengthen connections with the young people they care for.

Read more and access the materials on LiveWell’s blog here.

Providing vulnerable communities training in sustainable development

Transforming the Future is a project which aims to generate a positive impact on vulnerable communities near tourist destinations across Latin America. Through a collaboration between Responsible Tourism Institute, Fundación Plan21, Universal Assistance, and the Z Zurich Foundation, this social program aims to develop sustainable tourism opportunities linked to the promotion of local culture and heritage, also helping communities in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico build stronger competencies to attain financial growth. In 2023, Transforming the Future won first place in the Best Sustainable Tourism category at the Tourism Innovation Summit in Seville, Spain.

Watch this video to learn more about the project and its impact.

* The final and audited 2023 figures will be disclosed in the Z Zurich Foundation’s Impact Report, which will be published in June 2024.