Message from the Chairman

Building resilience in times of crisis

Resilience is about stability. But it’s only when crisis strikes that resilience, or the lack of it, fully comes to light. The past few years have presented society with an exceptional number of crises, highlighting where resilience is high and where it most urgently needs strengthening. 2022 saw the outbreak of the devastating war in Ukraine, post-pandemic economic turbulence and humanitarian catastrophes that rarely made the headlines.

Together, these crises spurred the Swiss Re Foundation to provide USD 5 million in emergency aid in 2022, with a focus on supporting people impacted by the Ukraine war. Tripling Swiss Re employees’ generous USD 750 000 donation to help people affected, the Foundation supported its aid partners in the region as well as organisations that are addressing that war’s terrible secondary effects – particularly the food security crisis in Africa.

Even as 2022 reminded us that gaps in resilience put low-income countries and people disproportionately at risk, the Foundation deepened its commitment to resilience-building in its focus areas.

In the area of natural hazards and climate risk, the coastal resilience portfolio expanded through new collaborations, including one with the seaweed farming organisation MARI Oceans in Indonesia. 2022 also saw the launch of the latest edition of the Ocean Resilience Innovation Challenge, which encourages the development of solutions that sustainably conserve or restore natural assets in costal zones and deliver tangible benefits for people by leveraging private sector financing. In the area of access to health, the Foundation continues to support innovative ventures that lower financial barriers to accessing healthcare in low-income communities, with a focus in 2022 on Uganda and Nigeria, respectively.

With its growing experience and partnerships, the Swiss Re Foundation defines resilience ever more precisely. This progression has seen it start to communicate in web-based “impact stories” the change that its projects have effected so far – also in quantitative terms. One such story from 2022 features a five-year collaboration with The Nature Conservancy that began by piloting a locally driven, nature-based approach to restoring hurricane-damaged coral reefs with financing backed by parametric insurance. This model was later scaled to all four countries bordering the Mesoamerican Reef and put to the test by the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.

As pandemic-related restrictions eased, the number of Swiss Re employees who volunteered for the benefit of Foundation partners in 2022 tripled compared to 2021. Employees’ commitment to donating not only their time and financial support but also their expertise is reflected in the success of the Shine Program, the Foundation's flagship regional programme for skills-based volunteering. As showcased in a second impact story, Swiss Re volunteers helped a start-up that sells income-boosting, carbon-neutral fodder to smallholder dairy farmers in India strengthen and scale its business model. Shine, launched in Bangalore in 2018, is now open to employees in Bratislava, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the US, too.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I’d like to honour the intrepid and innovative partners we support through the Swiss Re Foundation for turning toward – rather than away from – the challenges and crises that made 2022 an exceptional year. In addition, I thank Swiss Re employees, especially the Foundation team, for their dedication to building a more resilient world.