Strategic framework
Focusing on the things that matter for our business
Sustainability is about the way we do business
Insurance acts as a societal safety net for us all. We use our expertise as a risk manager to enhance resilience to natural, societal, economic and financial risks. Living up to our purpose, create a brighter future together, will strengthen our core business and have a positive impact on our performance as an underwriter, investor and employer. With changing customer expectations and an increasing demand for social and environmental engagement, sustainability is increasingly becoming a driver for value creation. Our purpose inspires us to leverage our business model to scale positive impact for customers, people and planet and to build partnerships that can drive transformative change.
Materiality: what matters most to us
We strive to continually improve our materiality assessment process in order to deepen our understanding of our risks, opportunities and impacts. To do so, we work together with our stakeholders to get a clearer picture of what matters most for us from a sustainability perspective. To deliver robust results, we aligned our approach with the structure provided by the CSRD, which builds upon and strengthens existing EU requirements around non-financial reporting.1 Therefore, in 2024, we conducted our first double materiality assessment (DMA) in line with CSRD, taking both an outside-in and inside-out view of potential material issues.
The 2024 DMA included both quantitative and qualitative analysis including direct engagement with our key stakeholders combined with an extensive round of interviews with a wide range of leading experts from across our diverse businesses and geographies. In particular, we engaged with senior management, employees, investors, customers, brokers, suppliers, industry associations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to understand their points of view on impact and financial materiality across environmental, social and governance dimensions. This DMA helps us identify those sustainability matters that are most material to our stakeholders, while also considering how they influence our company.
We followed a two-step approach for stakeholder engagement:
- Step 1: We engaged through interviews with senior management and through surveys with various employees around the world, using a draft list of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) topics to guide discussions. Post-interview, surveys were issued to capture further thoughts on sustainability in relation to our Group.
- Step 2: We engaged a broader group through topic-level surveys to identify sustainability priorities. The process aimed to gather different perspectives on the materiality of topics identified in earlier steps.
Using these insights, we identified four core material areas spanning 10 material specific subtopics. Additionally, we also developed a watchlist of topics that, while not currently classified as material in the DMA, are deemed significant enough to warrant ongoing observation. This additional list allows us to track developments, gauge potential impacts, and prepare for any necessary action should these topics gain material significance in the years ahead.
1 Our methodology is aligned with the DMA implementation guidance from the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG).
Our Sustainability Framework
We have been working to integrate sustainability across our strategy for many years through our Sustainability Framework, using technology, innovation, learning, partnerships and governance as key enablers of implementation.
In 2024, we continued to execute on our Sustainability Framework and scale impact to bring our sustainability ambitions to life, especially in relation to better supporting our customers and catalyzing our own transition journey through the publication of our first climate transition plan.
As an advocate, adviser and role model, we want to empower individuals and organizations to act today to create a better tomorrow.
Key Group-wide sustainability targets
We have set the following targets for each of our focus areas.
Planet: Mitigate and adapt to climate change
- Net-zero operations by 2030, investments and underwriting by 2050.
- New interim 2030 engagement and emissions targets set for underwriting and investments1.
- 75 percent of managed procurement spend2 with suppliers with net-zero targets by 2030.
1 For more details, see our Sustainability Report on pages 125 to 128.
2 Managed procurement spend (MPS) means the spend of approximately USD 2 billion annually managed centrally by Zurich’s Procurement and Vendor Management function on goods and services that are required to enable Zurich to maintain and develop its operations.
To provide up-to-date and relevant information about our performance, we report against the most respected sustainability reporting standards and participate in a number of ratings and indices, such as CDP, FTSE4Good, EcoVadis CSR Performance Monitoring Platform, MSCI ESG and Sustainalytics.
Signatories
We believe sustainability is too complex and interconnected a topic to be tackled on our own. Therefore, we have become a signatory of a number of global initiatives that help us advance our work in collaboration with industry and global peers.
Since 2019, Zurich has been a signatory to the Business Ambition for 1.5°C Pledge aimed at limiting average global temperature increases to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Zurich became a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in July 2012. This UN supported global investor initiative, is designed to provide a framework for better integration of environmental, social and governance factors into investment practice.
Downloads
As a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Zurich reports on its progress.
Zurich joined UN Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance as a founding member in 2019, committing to a net-zero-emission portfolio of investments by 2050.
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (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. Zurich became a signatory in 2017. Our progress report can be found in the integrated sustainability disclosure (ISD) in the Annual Report.
Zurich Santander Insurance America is a member of the UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance through the membership of the Zurich Insurance Group. Zurich Santander Insurance America is a joint venture between Zurich and Banco Santander created in 2011, with Zurich being the majority owner. Read more about sustainability at Zurich Santander in the Zurich Santander Sustainability Report 2023.
Statement of continuing support
Zurich became a signatory of the UN Global Compact in July 2011 because we believe that being a responsible company is fundamental to our long-term sustainability. As a signatory, we are committed to aligning our strategy, culture and day-to-day operations with the Global Compact’s 10 universally-accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
The principles of the Global Compact complement our purpose, values and Code of Conduct, and all Zurich employees are expected to live up to them. We are committed to embracing, supporting and enacting these principles within our sphere of influence, and we will regularly communicate our progress.
Zurich is a founding member of WEF’s Good Work Alliance, a global, cross-industry group of forward-thinking companies striving to build a more resilient, equitable, inclusive and human-centric future of work.
