Zurich Climate Resi­li­ence Alli­ance: A proven alli­ance, a new direction

Never before has the urgency to take measu­res to reduce climate change and mini­mise its conse­quen­ces been so evident. Against this back­drop, the Z Zurich Foun­da­tion has stra­te­gi­cally reor­ga­nised its acti­vi­ties. It has been invol­ved in flood protec­tion for a decade with the Zurich Flood Resi­li­ence Alli­ance. This has been very successful over the years. It has had a posi­tive impact on the lives of over three million people whose liveli­hoods were threa­tened by the conse­quen­ces of climate change in more than 350 commu­ni­ties world­wide. Howe­ver, the foun­da­tion now wants to use the expe­ri­ence gained to take broa­der action against the conse­quen­ces of climate change. 

The Alli­ance is an eco-system by itself.

_{Gregory Renand, Head of the Z Zurich Foundation}

‘We have evol­ved the Zurich Flood Resi­li­ence Alli­ance into the Zurich Climate Resi­li­ence Alli­ance, while the members remain the same,’ says Gregory Renand, Head of the Z Zurich Foun­da­tion. Its members include various inter­na­tio­nal NPOs such as ‘Plan inter­na­tio­nal’, which opera­tes a site in Zurich, and Mercy Corps from the UK. ‘The Alli­ance is an eco-system by itself, gathe­ring skills and exper­tise that comple­ment each other and have the coll­ec­tive ability to shape, imple­ment, moni­tor and scale meaningful commu­nity-based inter­ven­ti­ons,’ she says. The Alli­ance lives a parti­ci­pa­tory phil­an­thropy. Foun­ded in 2013, it imple­ments program­mes for commu­ni­ties in 15 count­ries in the Global South.

Support that gets through

An exam­ple from Mexico shows how the Alli­ance works successfully. Commu­ni­ties and the Mexi­can Red Cross had reco­g­nised that an impro­ve­ment in the rela­ti­onship between the commu­ni­ties and the govern­ment was neces­sary to ensure that support reaches vulnerable popu­la­tion groups that are often diffi­cult to reach. To this end, the Mexi­can Red Cross foun­ded commu­nity briga­des. ‘These are trai­ned volun­teer groups equip­ped to assist their commu­ni­ties in prepa­ring for and respon­ding to floods,’ explains Renand. In 2020, during a major flood, they demons­tra­ted how they respon­ded effec­tively to the flood and made a signi­fi­cant contri­bu­tion to mini­mi­sing the impact of the floo­ding and acce­le­ra­ting recon­s­truc­tion. ‘Reco­g­nis­ing the successful approach of the commu­nity briga­des’ approach, the Natio­nal Civil Protec­tion agency invi­ted the Mexi­can Red Cross to contri­bute to the deve­lo­p­ment of the Natio­nal Stra­tegy for Resi­li­ent Communities.’

Common concerns

The stra­te­gic realignment of the Zurich Climate Resi­li­ence Alli­ance does not change the coope­ra­tion between Zurich Insu­rance Group and the Z Zurich Foun­da­tion. The Z Zurich Foun­da­tion is a chari­ta­ble foun­da­tion. Its commit­ment is in line with the sustaina­bi­lity agenda, purpose, values and culture of Zurich Insu­rance Group. It is its main tool to engage in the commu­nity. This includes enga­ging the employees of the Insu­rance Group. ‘The Z Zurich Foun­da­tion works along­side Zurich Insu­rance Group employees helping them support their commu­ni­ties and the causes close to their hearts via diffe­rent enga­ge­ment initia­ti­ves,’ says Renand. They volun­teer their time and exper­tise to help vulnerable people. 

At the Z Zurich Foun­da­tion, we believe preven­tion is the best form of protection.

_{Gregory Renand}

This includes commu­ni­ties threa­tened by the conse­quen­ces of climate change. The climate issue in parti­cu­lar demons­tra­tes the connec­tion and proxi­mity to the insu­rance busi­ness. Renand says: ‘At the Z Zurich Foun­da­tion, we believe preven­tion is the best form of protec­tion. This is some­thing we share with the insu­rance indus­try, start­ing with the Zurich Insu­rance Group.’ Over ten years, the Alli­ance has impro­ved the resi­li­ence of commu­ni­ties to floo­ding. Expe­ri­ence has shown: The know­ledge and approa­ches that the Alli­ance has deve­lo­ped through this work are also appli­ca­ble to other climate hazards such as heat waves, wild­fi­res and storms. In addi­tion, the Foun­da­tion and the other members of the Alli­ance have reco­g­nised that by adap­ting the under­ly­ing struc­tures, prac­ti­ces and rela­ti­onships, funda­men­tal change is possi­ble. ‘Increased annual funding from the Z Zurich Foun­da­tion supports the Alli­ance in expan­ding its scope and adop­ting a ‘systems change’ view to signi­fi­cantly increase our ambi­tion and impact,’ says Renand.

Funded by members

The Z Zurich Foun­da­tion is finan­ced by various members of the Zurich Insu­rance Group. It then deci­des to allo­cate it to various causes aligned with the Z Zurich Foundation’s thema­tic areas (adap­ting to climate change, respon­ding to crisis, enab­ling social equity, impro­ving mental well­be­ing) and impact ambi­tion. It also works along­side Zurich Insu­rance Group employees, helping them to support their commu­ni­ties and the causes close to their hearts via diffe­rent enga­ge­ment initia­ti­ves (volun­tee­ring oppor­tu­ni­ties, matching their donations).