Advancing the net-zero transition with colleagues

At Swiss Re, we strive to minimise the environmental impacts of our business and are committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Employees are an important stakeholder in the transition to net-zero and are included in Swiss Re's Group Sustainability Strategy. Employees joining Swiss Re learn about our commitments and receive trainings in the risks and opportunities within decarbonisation in relation to our operations, underwriting and asset management.

The NetZeroYou2 Programme

As part of Swiss Re's commitment to tackle climate change, we seek to encourage employees to take action individually. Since 2021, we offer digital tools and foster an internal community to inspire employees to pursue climate-friendly lives at work, home, and during their commute through Swiss Re's award-winning NetZeroYou2 programme.

In line with Swiss Re’s operational net-zero GHG ambition, the programme aims to inspire employees from across the Group to adopt the motto: “Do our best, remove the rest”.

  • The “Do our best, …” component of the programme includes enabling Swiss Re employees to calculate their carbon footprint and offers various climate challenges with the support of Swiss Re's NetZeroYou2 app. The challenges range from informative quizzes and suggestions for practical climate actions to interactive events and workshops.
  • To involve employees in Swiss Re’s efforts to “… remove the rest”, the programme also offers employees access to the same high-quality carbon certificates and long-term projects in the mix that Swiss Re uses to compensate operational emissions.

The impact at Swiss Re so far

In two years, Swiss Re employees have:

  • Completed over 500k small personal climate actions in the NetZeroYou2 app​

  • Compensated over 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions via carbon certificates​

  • Joined the app with 30% of employees calculating their personal carbon footprints​

  • Attended 30 climate focused events​

What our people are saying

  • You connect with people in your company that you just never would have known otherwise. These are people now that I share a part of my life with - we share interests, goals and certain morals that very quickly form connections and friendships.
  • Inspired by various people posting on social media about their 3-month challenges, I embarked on a 1-year challenge on 18th July 2021. So yesterday I completed one year of not buying any new clothes for myself.
  • I didn’t know that all those little things could help reduce emissions. But now I’m in because I care about the future of our planet. I am now trying to eat more veggies and less meat! Also, more cycling and less car!

Net-Zero across our business activities

Individuals, governments, and business have a role to play in advancing the net-zero transition and Swiss Re as a business is no exception. At Swiss Re, we have committed to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 across our business, setting a target for 2030 in our own operations and by 2050 in our underwriting and investment portfolios.

Operations

In 2019, Swiss Re was one of the first companies worldwide that committed to achieving net-zero GHG emissions in its operations, setting an ambitious target for 2030.

Discover about Sustainable operations

Underwriting

To advance the transition to a low-carbon economy, we offer a range of re/insurance solutions to manage the risks associated with various types of renewable energy projects.

Discover about Advancing the net-zero transition

Responsible investing

Swiss Re's Responsible Investing strategy is based on the three cornerstones Enhancement, Inclusion and Exclusion while integrating climate action

Discover about Swiss Re's roadmap to a net-zero investment portfolio

Notes

Notes

  • In 2022, the NetZeroYou2 Programme received two prestigious UK-based awards: the Best Corporate Sustainability Initiative award from Business Culture Awards, as well as the Employee Engagement ESG Programme of the Year award from ESG Awards.
  • Data as of June 2023

Definitions:

  • "Carbon" is used in the text as an equivalent to CO2 equivalent emissions.
  • "Emissions" refer to CO2 equivalent emissions.
  • "Net-zero" means that for every tonne of greenhouse gas emissions that cannot be avoided, an equivalent amount of CO2 needs to be removed from the atmosphere and stored permanently.

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