AXA CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY FACTS AT–A-GLANCE
OUR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY LIES IN PROTECTING PEOPLE OVER THE LONG TERM
Insurance is a people business.
The relationships we develop as risk managers are central to a business operating based on the trust of our stakeholders.
AXA is a company that touches the lives of over 100 million customers globally and whose business is to protect people over the long term. This means we have a responsibility to leverage our skills, resources, and risk expertise to build a stronger and safer society. Our influence extends from our culture, to the products and services we offer, through to the way we support our communities and care for the environment.
Corporate responsibility (CR) is about doing good business, and we see it as a key driver of business value. CR contributes to AXA’s growth by facilitating access to new markets, expanding the reach of existing offers, and influencing the way we innovate. Responsibility is also an important part of our profitability and positioning, justifying a market premium and securing our status as an employer of choice.
As new risks emerge in an increasingly uncertain world, the economic and social needs addressed by our business are changing. In both developed and emerging markets, the impacts of megatrends, from aging and longevity to climate change, have become more difficult to navigate.
Corporate responsibility ensures we can move forward with confidence in this changing world, thinking long term to meet the needs of all of our stakeholders. With this enduring purpose we strive to uphold our commitment to create a safer, better prepared world.
“We are a company whose business is to protect people over the long term.”
As an insurer, AXA has always had a “noble purpose”: our business is to protect people over the long term. This means we have a responsibility to build a stronger and safer society, in addition to protecting our customers. We believe the best way to do this is to use the unique skills and resources of the Group to help people better understand and prevent risks. This is why for example we have created the AXA Research Fund, a major scientific research initiative endowed with €100 million at its inception in 2007 and a renewed contribution of €100 million through 2018. We also have a goal to link 50% of local community-related donations across the Group to risk research and education by 2015. This approach is a significant driver of pride and engagement for our employees, as evidenced in our internal surveys. It also enhances our credibility to act in the public interest and gives all of our stakeholders more confidence in our commitment to responsibility.
“As an insurer, AXA has always had a noble purpose that extends beyond our financial interests.”
How Has AXA’s Approach to Corporate Responsibility Evolved?
Corporate responsibility initiatives have existed at AXA since the Group was formed more than 25 years ago. Over the past decade in particular we have made great progress in bringing structure and clarity to our approach, first by creating a dedicated Corporate Responsibility Department and second by defining a Group-wide strategy in 2009. In the process, we have focused on truly embedding corporate responsibility in the way we do business. Each of our entities is now accountable for a robust and measurable CR approach integrated into local strategic plans. This means we are able to monitor progress being made across the Group on a number of core issues, whilst allowing flexibility in responding to local priorities.
How Do You See Corporate Responsibility Shaping The Group’s Future In The Longer Term?
Because we act as risk managers, corporate responsibility provides the Group with a way of understanding and responding to a changing world. Our knowledge of societal megatrends and risks in our economy, society and environment allows us to strengthen our own business model and better protect people.
CR STRATEGY PLANNING PROCESS
AXA has a unique approach to CR strategy planning. Every year each local AXA entity submits a strategic plan for the following year to the Group Strategy teams. This plan includes all strategic issues, ranging from finance to marketing to risk management. CR is also part of this strategic plan, which is reviewed and challenged each year by the Group’s senior executive team.
Each local entity’s CR strategic plan includes a target in terms of CR Maturity for the following year. This target is derived from a CR Maturity Self-Assessment tool that measures the Group’s performance across a wide range of CR-related issues. Inspired by the assessment systems of specialized rating agencies, we created our own model, with the help of each corporate function at Group level and all local Chief Corporate Responsibility Officers, adapted to the needs of our local operations.
The tool analyzes more than 70 factors related to a broad set of CR criteria. Each factor is weighted and rated according to the performance of the entity, resulting in an aggregate global score out of 100. This rating positions each entity at one of five levels of “CR maturity” based on a defined scale. The maturity scale tracks progress from the lowest “defensive” stage through to the highest “civic” stage.
Each year since 2010, AXA entities have used the tool to fine-tune their analysis of corporate responsibility strengths and weaknesses and to set a target for improvement the following year. These targets are included in the objectives of senior management, linked to variable compensation. Our goal for 2015 is to help entities achieve the “strategic stage” rating on the CR maturity scale*, which corresponds to systematically integrating societal challenges within the company’s strategy.
METHODOLOGY
AXA's approach to integrating long term Corporate Responsibility (CR) factors into our business is based on detailed performance indicators that are reviewed every year by every local entity. These indicators are tracked with the help of an internal “CR self-assessment tool”, the results of which are fully disclosed in our CR Barometer.
AXA’s CR self-assessment tool enables us to accurately monitor our CR performance, or “maturity”, on both local and group levels. Inspired by assessment systems developed by specialized rating agencies, we developed our own model that could adapt to specific local features. This tool analyses over 70 factors over a wide range of CR-related criteria: governance, risk management, compliance, customer relationship management, environmental impact management, “green” products, micro-insurance, human capital management, community engagement, corporate philanthropy, supplier management, etc. Each factor is weighted and rated according to the performance of the entity, which then receives an aggregate global rating out of 100, corresponding to its level of “CR maturity.” This rating places the entity on one of five levels of the CR maturity scale.* This scale tracks progress from a “defensive” phase through to a strategic integration phase. Every year, entities can fine-tune the analysis of their strengths and weaknesses in corporate responsibility and assess their potential for improvement. Our 2015 target is to help entities achieve the “strategic” rating, which corresponds to integrating societal challenges in the company’s global strategy.
In addition to being an evaluation process, this tool also serves as a guide to the development of local CR strategies, which the entities use to identify the measures required to formulate and adapt their own strategy. This “CR KPI” is included in local key performance indicators and dashboards. This process enables us to transform disparate data into quantified progress indicators. * Scale developed by Simon Zadek, strategy consultant.
CSR PROPOSAL
As an insurance company AXA’s primary business is concentrated on protection. Protecting and securing lives, wealth management and investments. Therefore the business itself serves a noble purpose. Majority of our stakeholders – manpower is in the Sales Force and as a sales person they are taught and trained not just to sell and earn commission but they are to sell:
Themselves – hailing the investment expert and AXA’s reputation on their name. They are expected to conduct quality sales. They are to build their credentials as they grow in the AXA corporate ladder with the existing accreditation process.
Credentials are crucial to our customers trust and the distributor must look good and dress well. Establish a reputable character and expertise in investments so to ensure their capability to promote and sell products that suite the needs of the clientele.
Solutions – provide the right solutions fit to the customer’s needs.
Services – utilize the golden rule in selling “do unto others what you want other do unto you” and to provide after sales service.
For AXA CSR is strategic "Corporate Responsibility" is the contribution of businesses to sustainable economic development and to the interests of society by taking responsibility for the direct and indirect impact of their activities on various stakeholders, including: customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment. The "responsible corporation" lies at the crossroads between social development, respect for the environment and economic performance.
In a nutshell, each distributor acts as a key contributor not just in the economy to promote cash flows but they help all the four basic units of the country as shown in the figure below.
Id so like to note that AXA has a very good CSR framework and it is placed at the heart of the business. I believe that to make it more sustainable, AXA Philippines is not just to meet goals but
exceed the region’s mandate and go beyond what I guided.
The current SRI standing of CSR from our end is as follows:
AXA Philippines overall score is only at 64% which means they are only doing CSR because it is part of the management and the company’s responsibility to do so. Our distributors are located and assigned to different areas and region in the country. Which led to the launch of an e-learning platform, to cater to the training and learning needs of our distributors. It made all trainings, legal and mandatory courses and refresher courses accessible anytime, anywhere, at their own pace. As long as they have an access to the internet, most of the training materials are published in formats fit for today’s devices such as desktop, laptop, ipad, tablets and smart phones.
I was assigned as the Learning Management system training officer to cater to electronic training needs of AXA Philippine’s distributor and this subject inspired me to do more than just learning but teach all distributors and inculcate in their hearts the nobility of our profession. I am to go around the country starting next year to launch the tool and orient the distributors how to navigate the system. I will also develop e-learning courses.
Moving forward with this highly sophisticated tool, I and the entity can use this to drive the whole sales force with our CSR initiatives. To promote:
- Responsibility in our workplace
- Responsibility in customer relations and in our products
- Responsibility in our Governance model
- Responsibility in supplier selection and relations
- Responsibility for our environmental footprint
- Responsibility towards civil society
REFLECTION
Everyone had very good proposals however, Im wishing we were spared with more time to discuss it. I honestly loved this subject, as weeks and lectures pass Im gaining more appreciation of the subject and makes me want to apply all those until I realized I can. I worked hard for days creating proposals for the Training Director and the management team on our planning because Im certain of integrating CSR in the succeeding modules I will create for the company and cascade to all our distributors. Its alot of nights of hard work doing the presentations, storylines, e-learning modules and gathering data. Thus I really want to apply all that Ive learn in real life, however since the presentation was done. I felt low spirited and disappointed because no one listens to all the hard work I tried to put into. I honestly felt disrespected when a classmate tried to take me off presenting and my professor just laughing, it felt that I wasnt supported.
Nevertheless, I will still push my plans and present this to my company. If I didnt gained appreciation in class, im sure I would with my team. They just believed in me although im young and hoping this would move the barometer to a higher leverage. My apologies for the rants, I just had to let it out.
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