«Our highly motivated employees form a strong base to drive forward sustainable development in all areas of our business operations. We are committed to shaping the future of our society into one that is simpler, safer and fairer in the long term – Simply Responsible.»
To start thinking about tomorrow today
For Baloise, sustainable development means much more than simply securing our own business activities as an insurer, bank and asset manager – we want to offer our employees secure workplaces and to not only accept social change but also actively contribute to it. After all, we want to be part of a liveable future for all.
Sustainability as a value creation cycle
For Baloise, sustainable business is about creating value for our stakeholder groups and, as a result, for our own business, too. Decisions are made on the basis of the impact that they have on society, the environment, employees, customers, partners and investors.
One example: our responsible investments
Topics like climate protection or treating our employees well are important to our customers. This is why we invest premium payments, for example, in companies that live up to their social and ecological responsibilities. On the one hand, this has a positive impact on our financial performance thanks to an improved risk/return profile, while on the other hand, it allows us to use our investments to support sustainable companies and make a positive contribution to our environment and society. This is something that benefits all of us.
Sustainability should be embodied throughout the whole company, but it can be difficult to keep track of this. We have therefore developed the Baloise Value Creation Model: it illustrates the cycle of how Baloise creates sustainable added value through various resources – employees, customers, society, the environment, partners and investors.
Resources such as employees, investors and the environment are at the start of the cycle. In line with our Simply Safe strategy, these are used in the four divisions of insurance, banking, asset management and ecosystems so as to make an impact – the investments of our investors thus become innovations that benefit our customers. The divisions of Corporate Governance, Data Governance & Security, Risk Management and Compliance form the foundation for this process.
Since 2019, Baloise has had a group-wide sustainability network. In 2021, country-specific work groups (board sustainability) were established that focus on implementing sustainability measures in the respective national markets. The groups comprise members of all operating segments within Baloise who have an influence on, or are influenced by, the issue of sustainability within the Group. These working groups are equipped with the necessary professional expertise to develop the content for the sustainability approach and to update it regularly; for example, the Baloise value-added model.
The Corporate Executive Committee decides on how the content is implemented. The Board of Directors is responsible for developing the sustainability approach, embedding it in the overall strategy and overseeing it. Since 2022, the Board of Directors’ strategy and governance committee has also functioned as the sustainability committee, monitoring developments in the area of sustainable management.
Sustainability Governance
Specialist agencies assess Baloise on its performance in relation to environmental, social and sustainability criteria, as well as its ethically correct governance by means of sustainability ratings or ESG ratings (ESG = Environment, Social, Governance).
The aim of sustainability ratings is to aid the decision-making processes of investors and creditors that base their activities on certain social and/or environmental sustainability criteria as well as economic criteria.
Baloise concentrates on the ratings it regards as most important: the MSCI, Sustainalytics, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (SAM Score) and the ISS ESG.
Baloise is also part of the FTSE4Good Index Series, a member of Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF) and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) as well as the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI).
We are driving developments towards a sustainable future with various products and services in the area of sustainability. As a supportive community, we cover all kinds of risks for our customers on a daily basis. At the same time, we strive to use our products not only to help protect and ensure the functioning of companies, economies, communities and individuals, but also to promote a society focused on the long term and to actively drive sustainable change.
The materiality matrix highlights issues that represent the greatest leverage for Baloise to influence sustainable development. The matrix represents a prioritisation aid for the broad subject area of sustainability. That said, all the topics listed, and those that go beyond this assessment, are important for Baloise. The assessment is carried out at regular intervals (every two to three years) to reflect the dynamics of the issue.
The explanations of the relevant topics resulting from the materiality assessment can be found here. Details of the process of the analysis, definitions of the material issues and our conclusion from the assessment can be found in the Baloise Group Annual Review.
Materiality matrix
We offer our employees an inspiring and collaborative work environment that they find motivating and that encourages their productivity and continuous development.
We make the lives of our customers safer and simpler. In this way, we will increase customer satisfaction and support our customers in their personal and professional development.
As a member of society, we are committed to social responsibility as a good corporate citizen. We offer protection, safety and security, and support (e.g. through taxes, sponsorships, donations and corporate citizenship) in normal times and during times of crisis, and aim to increase the number of employees who do voluntary work.
It is important to us that we continue to reduce our carbon emissions, for the sake of the environment. From 2021, 100 per cent of our electricity will come from renewable sources. In addition, we will expand and intensify our responsible approach to investment.
It is important to us that we are the preferred partner for brokers, agents, suppliers and business partners, such as outsourcing and innovation partners, who share our values and with whom we can convert synergies into mutual, measurable success.
Baloise is an attractive, reliable and responsible investment. We want to further increase the generation of cash from our operating activities and pursue a transparent, balanced and value-creating strategy for the application of funds.
- Baloise Responsible Investment Policy for third-party assets and investment funds
- Baloise Responsible Investment Policy for insurance funds of Baloise Group
- Baloise Responsible Investment Policy for Real Estate of the Swiss insurance units (only in German)
- Baloise Active Ownership Policy
- Baloise Climate Strategy
- Baloise Active Ownership Report 2021
A panel of judges from Capital Finance International (CFI.co), a leading financial magazine, has presented Baloise with its ‘Most Innovative Sustainability Insurer – Switzerland 2021’ Award.