Further enterprise management principles of Hannover Re

In addition to the Corporate Governance principles, Hannover Rück SE has adopted its own more extensive Code of Conduct that is applied Group-wide as a set of minimum standards. Complementing our corporate strategy and the Corporate Governance principles, it establishes rules governing integrity in the behaviour of all employees of Hannover Re and is intended to help members of staff cope with the ethical and legal challenges that they face as part of day-to-day work. The rules defined in the Code of Conduct reflect the high ethical and legal standards that guide our actions worldwide. It is our belief that integrity in dealings with our stakeholders constitutes the foundation of a successful enterprise. In both our strategic planning and our day-to-day business activities, we therefore aspire to consistently apply the highest ethical and legal standards; for our actions and the way in which every single one of us presents and conducts himself or herself are crucial in shaping the image of Hannover Re.

Sustainability of enterprise management

The strategic orientation of Hannover Re towards sustainability constitutes an important element of the enterprise strategy. The aim is to achieve commercial success on the basis of a results-driven business model in accordance with the needs of our staff and the company as well as with an eye to protecting the environment and conserving natural resources. As part of the regular review of our Group Strategy and Sustainability Strategy and based upon a materiality analysis, we adjusted our previous Sustainability Strategy for the years 2015 to 2017 to the changing economic framework conditions and systematically followed through on it with the Sustainability Strategy 2018 to 2020. The current Sustainability Strategy defines four action fields and specifies concrete goals and measures that are to be implemented in the strategy cycle. In accordance with the CSR Directive Implementation Act of 11 April 2017, Hannover Rück SE has published a non-financial statement for the 2017 financial year.

We thus strive to reduce as far as possible the greenhouse gas emissions produced by our day-to-day business activities in order to come closer to reaching our goal of carbon neutrality. Furthermore, we have defined strategic principles for our human resources management, since we consider our employees to be a crucial factor in the success of our company. Along with skills, qualifications and commitment, a high degree of diversity is one of the cornerstones of our successful business operations. Performance indicators have therefore been defined for personnel development and advancement. Employee retention is encouraged, while diversity and equal opportunities are promoted. Three of the members of the Supervisory Board of Hannover Rück SE in the year under review were women. In addition, one of the members of the Supervisory Board’s Nomination Committee is a woman. Detailed information on the topic of Sustainability is provided on our website.

Targets pursuant to §§ 76 Para. 4, 111 Para. 5 Stock Corporation Act (AktG)

In accordance with § 289 et seq. Para. 4 Sentence 1 in conjunction with Para. 2 No. 4 Commercial Code (HGB) and § 111 Para. 5 Stock Corporation Act (AktG), the Supervisory Board of the company was required to set fresh target quotas for women on the Supervisory Board and Executive Board because the deadline for reaching the existing targets was 30 June 2017. For the said period the target quotas for women were 30% on the Supervisory Board and zero on the Executive Board. The target set for the Supervisory Board was fulfilled with a quota of around 33%; the target for the Executive Board was not surpassed.

The new resolution adopted by the Supervisory Board is applicable to the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2022. After extensive deliberations the Supervisory Board decided, in due consideration of the term of office of the Supervisory Board and the current mandates and contracts of service of the members of the Executive Board, to leave the target quota for women on the Supervisory Board at 30%. The target quota for the Executive Board was raised from zero to 14%. This means that one woman shall serve as a member of the Executive Board in the specified period.

The company’s Executive Board raised the existing targets for the two levels of senior management below the Executive Board from 16.8% to 18% for the same period.