Here at Baloise, we create value for our stakeholder groups across all of our locations – and that extends beyond our business activity. Our charitable engagement throughout the group can be roughly divided into five categories: community and good causes, environmental and climate protection, health, education and research, innovation and safety. We take our responsibility as part of society seriously and are committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. The following article summarises the commitments of all national companies of Baloise.
We provide financial support and volunteer work for organisations that aid the common good and help people in need.
- Baloise for Life: Baloise organises Baloise for Life every year during Christmas period, which took place for the tenth time in 2023. Through various activities for employees, we raise money for charitable organisations suggested by employees. This campaign is linked to the national campaigns Music for Life and Télévie.
- Wishes on the Christmas tree for "eins vo fünf": In 2023, there is again the wish tree campaign. In collaboration with the Employee Committee, we are organizing a Christmas tree at our headquarters in Basel, on which raffle tickets with gift wishes from children and young people have been hung. Employees can draw lots and fulfill the gift wishes. In this way, Baloise employees bring a smile to the faces of needy children, young people and families in the Basel region.
- Baloise Winterzauber: We organised a Christmas market for employees and their families for the second time. At the market stalls, employees presented their colleagues with homemade delicacies and more. 20 percent of the profits go to the Kinderhilfe Sternschnuppe foundation.
- Cristmas concert 2023: Every year in December, a Christmas concert takes place in Hamburg. The proceeds go to charitable organisations. The donations for this edition went to the following organisations:
- Baloise Bank 1 per cent donation: Every year, Baloise Bank donates around 1 per cent of its net profit. These one-off donations are made to around 30 different projects (such as holiday week courses for disadvantaged children, supporting an SAC hut, beehives for schools, etc.).
- King Baudouin Foundation: Support for the foundation, which is involved in numerous social projects in Belgium, Europe and around the world.
- Running challenge 3.0: From June to August, 250 Baloise employees in Germany collected donations for the Sternenbrücke Children's Hospice Foundation by covering 73074.40 kilometres through sporting activities (running, cycling, swimming, etc.) together with the Board of Management.
- Volunteer Day 2023: Almost 50 employees participated in Volunteer Day on 12 October. We helped out in a total of six daycare centres in Bad Homburg, Hamburg and Bremen, where we completed tasks for which there is otherwise hardly any time in everyday life. Examples include painting a long corridor, gardening and building a water ride.
- Velafrica: We have been working with the organisation Velafrica since 2017. We donate to the organisation in all claims that end with us owning bicycles.
- PluSport Event: In July, the 62nd PluSport Event was held in Magglingen, which is the largest sports day for people with disabilities in Switzerland with around 2,500 athletes. This year, Baloise employees were once again actively involved on site and helped with the implementation of the event.
- Day of good deeds: In collaboration with Baloise’s SV staff restaurant, a bakery was set up at the Head Office in Basel for the day of good deeds. In the days leading up to 6 May, employees volunteered to make desserts that were donated to the Gassenküche Basel.
- Noordstarfonds en Handelsbeurs: Baloise in Belgium supports this diversified music house, which is active in the following areas: as a central jazz stage and a stage for adventurous music for a young audience. The aim is to create an important, inclusive music centre in which cultural diversity, equality and sustainability are integrated into all activities.
We provide funding and volunteer work to organisations who strive to protect our environment and climate. Charity work does not just affect us as people, it also affects our environment. Only in an intact environment can we feel at ease; only in an intact environment can we really flourish. That is why we support environmental organisations and play an active role in protecting the environment too.
- Natuurpunt/Natagora: We support Belgium’s largest nature conservation organisation. In 2023, we supported various projects, such as an educational nature farm and the expansion of a forest.
- natur&ëmwelt: Since 2015, we have been collaborating with the organisation natur&ëmwelt in Luxembourg, providing support in the form of funding and volunteer work from our employees. The organisation manages 1,500 ha of nature reserve in the country.
- Swiss Climate Foundation: In 2021, we signed a ten-year contract with the Swiss Climate Foundation. By donating our rebate of the CO2 tax, we are supporting environmentally friendly technologies, products and services for small and medium-sized businesses in Switzerland and Lichtenstein.
- Klimaplattform Region Basel: As a member of the Basel region’s climate platform, we support climate protection and sustainable development in the region around our Head Office in Basel.
- Little owl project with BirdLife Switzerland: In June, Baloise employees built dozens of nesting boxes in collaboration with BirdLife Switzerland and used stones to create small structures in the field to create a habitat for the little owl.
- Stadtradeln 2023: In September 2023, we at Baloise took part in the Germany-wide city cycling event with two teams in Hamburg and Bad Homburg. Teams from different municipalities and the municipalities themselves compete against each other in the event. The aim is to cover as many kilometres by bike as possible in three weeks, to promote the bicycle as a means of transport and to avoid CO2 emissions in the process. Together we travelled 11,572km by bike and avoided 1,874kg of CO2.
- Week of sustainable mobility: Baloise in Belgium organised an internal sustainable mobility week and encouraged employees to travel sustainably during this week. We organised a free bicycle check for all employees who commute by bike.
- No-mow May: As part of the “No-mow May” movement, Baloise in Belgium did not mow almost 600m2 of lawn at its Antwerp site and converted 10,000m2 of commercial space into flower meadows. Employees were encouraged to do the same and not mow their own lawns in May. By doing this, Baloise in Belgium and its employees made a contribution to biodiversity.
We provide research funding in various areas of health and support organisations dedicated to improving the well-being of sick people and supporting general health.
- Fondation Cancer: We have been supporting cancer screening and scientific research at Fondation Cancer in Luxembourg for more than ten years.
- ALAN: We support ALAN, a Luxembourg-based association for rare diseases. ALAN’s missions are particularly important to us, reflecting values that we share and aim to apply every day like altruism and mutual aid.
- CMCM: We have been supporting the Luxembourg health insurance provider CMCM since 2018, providing our business solutions expertise in its B2B operations.
- UZA Antwerp University Hospital: Thanks to our partnership with the Antwerp University Hospital, we are helping research into immunotherapy against cancer in Belgium.
- Picken Doheem: We support and maintain a partnership with a next-generation biomedical analysis laboratory in Luxembourg.
- Blood donation campaign: In collaboration with other companies from Baloise Park and the Swiss Red Cross in Basel, Baloise organised two blood donation campaigns in Baloise Park in 2023, giving employees the opportunity to donate blood during working hours.
We see education and research as key parts of sustainable development. That is why we provide financial support and volunteer work to various projects, including those covering political education for youngsters.
- ACEL: Support for the Association des Cercles d'Etudiants Luxembourgeois, the umbrella association of the students’ union in Luxembourg. This organisation represents over 10,000 students, making it the most important body of its kind in the country.
- ANESEC and ANELD: Partnership with networks of Economics and Law students from the University of Luxembourg.
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland: For the last ten years, we have acted as a partner and provided financial support to the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, holding innovation and sustainability workshops with students to develop ideas.
- engage.ch: We have maintained a partnership with engage.ch since 2019, helping children and young adults in Switzerland to become politically active. In 2023, we continued to support the Change Switzerland campaign with financing and a series of workshops for our young apprentices and employees.
- Chair in Financial Wellbeing – University of Leuven: With the Baloise Insurance Chair to Financial Well-Being, we are supporting fundamental research into cognitive distortion and financial well-being. The chair’s results are not only academically relevant, but also provide valuable insights for political decision-makers.
- Chair in Financial Wellbeing - Vlerick Business School: With the Baloise Insurance Chair to Financial Well-Being, we are supporting fundamental research into cognitive distortion and financial well-being. The chair’s results are not only academically relevant, but also provide valuable insights for political decision-makers.
- Baloise Digital Scouts: Since 2017, the Baloise Digital Scouts have been committed to raising awareness of digitalisation issues in Swiss society. We offer brochures, presentations, workshops and trade fair stands on cyber security, smart homes and media education for employees, parents, school children and senior citizens – free of charge, of course.
- Wirtschaftswoche: Since 2019, we have been supporting the Wirtschaftswochen business weeks organised by the Basel Chamber of Commerce. These events aim to educate senior school students on economic matters and provide a business-related learning experience via teamwork. Baloise generally organises two of these business weeks per year.
- Future Skills Forum: We are supporting this event that focuses on discussing the skills that businesses will need, in order to make employees fit for the future.
- Université de Luxembourg: For many years, Baloise has maintained an active partnership with the Université de Luxembourg, based on a close exchange in terms of training and recruitment opportunities. Within the framework of this partnership, scholarships are offered to Bachelor students in the field of Applied Management who are selected on the basis of their performance and potential. These students will receive monthly financial support for the entire 30-month duration of their bachelor's degree. This scholarship also allows them to complete an internship at Baloise during their final semester. The aim is to gain valuable experience before entering the professional market.
- Digital for Youth: Baloise in Belgium supports the non-profit organisation Digital for Youth in Belgium. This organisation aims to reduce the digital divide in Belgium for children and young people between the ages of 6 and 25. Among other things, laptops are provided for this purpose, which are donated by companies. Baloise is committed to doing its part.
We support organisations and initiatives dedicated to developing innovative technologies, products and services. These can be related to a range of areas, such as road safety or digitalisation.
- InnoPrix of Baloise Bank: The Baloise Bank foundation has been awarding the InnoPrix for the sustainable promotion of the Solothurn economy every year since 1987. Its focus is on innovative projects that offer economic added value for the region and make a contribution to research and development or a technology transfer. In addition to the economic aspects, the social impact of the idea is also crucial. In 2023 the company Apex AG did win the annual award, which is endowed with prize money of CHF 25,000.
- Fonds Emilie Leus: We support the Fonds Emilie Leus foundation, which raises awareness of the risks of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol in Belgium.
- Vias Institute: Through our partnership with the Vias Institute in Belgium, we help support safety and safe behaviour on the road. A media campaign (TV and radio ad) with Olympic athlete and world champion gymnast Nina Derwael raises public awareness, in order to reduce driver distraction by the use of phones and smartphones.
- Smart Regio Basel: Through the partnership with Smart Regio, we are supporting digital connection in the Basel region of Switzerland, in order to make it a more attractive place to live and do business over the long term.