Over 95,000 people demand Swiss Re to stop insuring climate and human rights offenders

Press release from Public Eye and Ekō, Zurich, 11. April 2025

At the end of 2023, Repórter Brasil revealed that Swiss Re was insuring large Brazilian farms involved in illegal deforestation and indigenous land conflicts, as part of the Investigation Award presented by Public Eye. Three new investigations now show that these violations of the company's own sustainability principles persist despite increasing criticism. At today's Annual General Meeting of the insurance group in Zurich, the global organization Ekō will be delivering more than 95,000 protest signatures demanding “no more insurance cover for forest-destroying, land-grabbing agribusinesses."

In brief:

  • From 2016 to 2022, Swiss Re insured many large Brazilian farms where the authorities were able to prove illegal deforestation and human rights violations.
  • A follow-up investigation by Repórter Brasil shows that the Swiss group continued to neglect its duty of care in 2024, despite these scandalous cases.
  • A petition presented by Ekō at today's Annual General Meeting in Zurich is increasing the pressure on Swiss Re to terminate these contracts and tighten its internal rules and processes.

The new cases of the large-scale farms Janaína, Rio Verde and Cedro, which Repórter Brasil describes in its follow-up investigation, are examples of how Swiss Re continues to systematically neglect its due diligence – despite its own promises. The latest investigation shows how the insurance giant has contracts with agribusinesses whose farmland overlaps with indigenous territories, which have been penalized for illegal deforestation, or which are under investigation for violence against indigenous communities. Doing business with this kind of partners stands in stark contrast to Swiss Re's public commitments to respect human rights and comply with the Paris Climate Agreement. The insurance giant is also enabling the misuse of state subsidy programs for agricultural insurance, which are becoming increasingly expensive due to the climate crisis.

From 2016 to 2022, Swiss Re closed at least 19 insurance policies for the protection of crops or livestock farming with companies that were found by Brazilian authorities to have committed illegal deforestation and other offenses. This finding from Reportér Brasil's original research in November 2023 prompted global campaigning organization Ekō to launch a six-language petition calling on the company to immediately cancel the insurance of ecologically or socially irresponsible farms. The petition, supported by Public Eye, has gathered more than 95,000 signatures and will be officially delivered to Swiss Re's management at today's Annual General Meeting.

To prevent further damage and regain the trust of shareholders, Swiss Re must immediately terminate all active contracts with Janaína, Rio Verde and Cedro, as these farms are demonstrably involved in illegal deforestation and land appropriation. And to prevent new contracts being signed with such questionable partners, Swiss Re urgently needs to review and strengthen its internal rules and processes for compliance with international environmental and social standards. This includes revising the risk assessments to exclude customers who operate in an environmentally and socially irresponsible manner or even break the law.

Pictures of the handover before the AGM will be available here from 12 noon.

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Disclaimer: This version of the media release is a translation of the original French version and is therefore not legally binding. In the event of any discrepancies, only the original is authoritative. Public Eye accepts no liability for linguistic errors, inaccuracies or misunderstandings.