«Sustainability is a balanced give and take. Therefore, it is important that we do business responsibly, promoting positive impacts and preventing negative ones.»
Compliance means more than just following the applicable laws: in fact, it includes the strategies for proper behaviour in accordance with applicable regulations. It is therefore also a matter of conscious and intentional adherence to rules in the broadest sense. Compliance is a vital tool for management control. These aspects make our intact corporate compliance an important framework for our value creation.
Baloise believes that compliance plays a key role in creating sustainable value for stakeholder groups such as customers, partners, employees and shareholders. New regulations and increasing controls by the supervisory authorities present a challenge for the entire organisation. Our aim is to make compliance a firm component of Baloise’s DNA. We have had a Group Compliance Officer since 2002, for whom several employees now work.
Raising awareness among our employees and providing training
At Baloise, we promote and practise a strong culture of compliance. Raising awareness among our employees with regard to compliance plays a central role here. We issue directives and provide regular training to cover topics such as data protection, combatting money laundering, competition law, bribery and corruption. Breaches can be reported using various channels, including an anonymous reporting platform. There are clearly defined rules in place governing how reports and cases are to be dealt with. There are also clear rules and approval processes governing the granting and acceptance of gifts and non-cash benefits set out in internal directives and in the Baloise Code of Conduct.
Strategic tasks
Their duties include, among other things, coordinating and implementing existing standards such as the Code of Conduct or Group-wide compliance standards as well as introducing new standards in the area of compliance. Group Compliance is thus an integral part of our efforts to comply with corporate governance.
Group Compliance provides advice to the Executive Committee when it comes to identifying compliance risks and taking responsibility in this area. It also acts as a central port of call for employees with questions on, or who want to report scenarios relating to, the Code of Conduct.
Monitoring and reporting
To ensure compliance standards are adhered to, Group Compliance continuously develops appropriate compliance controls and analyses existing work processes and risks. The results are reported to the local Executive Committees, the Corporate Executive Committee and the Board of Directors’ Audit and Risk Committee.
Our policies and processes also include audit procedures in accordance with ‘Section Eight: Due Diligence and Transparency with respect to Minerals and Metals from Conflict-Affected Areas and Child Labor’ of the Swiss Code of Obligations and the corresponding Enforcement Ordinance on Due Diligence and Transparency with respect to Minerals and Metals from Conflict-Affected Areas and Child Labor. The audit revealed that Baloise neither imports nor processes minerals and metals from conflict areas. The risk-based suspicion check for child labor also revealed no reasonable grounds for suspicion. Baloise is therefore not subject to the corresponding further-reaching statutory due diligence and reporting obligations.