Inclusion

Investments positively contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are suited to address specific sustainability topics in the real world, such as climate change mitigation and the transition to a net-zero GHG emissions economy, as well as social improvements.

For these SDG-related investments, Swiss Re measures the real-world impact against pre-defined and standardised indicators for internal purposes and aligns them to the SDGs ¹.

Please go to our KPI tab for an overview of our SDGs-linked impact investments and metrics.

Green, social and sustainability bonds are reviewed annually against the Green Bond Principles (GBP) and Social Bond Principles (SBP) issued by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). Only bonds that fulfil all four components of the ICMA's GBP and/or SBP, respectively, are included in the reporting. In 2023, less than 6% of the bonds reviewed by Swiss Re did not meet the criteria of ICMA’s two sets of principles.

In 2019, the target was increased to hold at least USD 4bn of green, social and sustainability bonds, to be achieved by the end of 2024.

Swiss Re aspires to finance infrastructure projects that reflect its risk appetite and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns.

Swiss Re aims to finance environmentally and socially sustainable infrastructure projects through its infrastructure debt portfolio, including projects in renewable energy or hospitals, and student dorms.

For its infrastructure debt portfolio, Swiss Re set a target to deploy additional capital of USD 750 million ² in social and renewable energy infrastructure, including energy efficiency, by the end of 2024 relative to year-end 2019.

For Swiss Re's real estate portfolio, the focus is on certified buildings, such as those adhering to the MINERGIE® standard in Switzerland. The externally managed real estate portfolio is mainly invested in the US, Central and Eastern European (CEE) and Western Europe (WE), and UK real estate markets. In all of these countries, striving for leading local sustainability certifications is part of the selected investment managers’ approach.

Swiss Re currently focuses on the seven SDGs shown below.

In 2023, Swiss Re held a total of USD 4.4 billion in green, social and sustainability bonds issued in accordance with ICMA’s GBP and SBP, at the time of reporting exceeding the target of USD 4 billion to be achieved by the end of 2024. In 2023, less than 6% of the bonds reviewed by Swiss Re did not meet the criteria of ICMA’s two sets of principles.

For its infrastructure debt portfolio, Swiss Re set a target to deploy additional capital of USD 750 million ¹ in social and renewable energy infrastructure, including energy efficiency, by the end of 2024 relative to year-end 2019. Swiss Re has reached this target ahead of time as reported in 2023. Overall, Swiss Re held USD 1.2 billion of social and renewable energy infrastructure debt as of year-end 2023.

By the end of 2023, the combined market value of Swiss Re's MINERGIE®-certified buildings was USD 0.5 billion or 20% of the Swiss real estate portfolio. These correspond to an energy consumption floor area of 56 192 m².

The externally managed real estate portfolio is predominantly invested in the US, CEE and WE, and the UK, and contains in total 36% certified buildings by market value. The UK portfolio is the most advanced with 48% BREEAM-certified buildings, followed by 34% certified buildings in CEE and WE and 34% LEED-certified buildings in the US.