Organization
The AXA Group's Sustainable Development Department was created in 2001 within the Communications Department, upon request from the Management Board.
1) Sustainable Development Department
The Sustainable Development Department is headed by Alice Steenland.
The Department oversees and coordinates the implementation of the Group's sustainable development policy. It is also responsible for centralizing relations with social rating agencies, socially responsible investors and analysts.
2) Network of sustainable development correspondents
A network of "sustainable development" correspondents has been set up by the CEOs of AXA's main companies around the world, responsible for coordinating the sustainable development program and promoting best practices at local level.
The network of correspondents meet up with the Sustainable Development Department during an annual seminar, and hold conference calls two or three times a year in order to take stock of projects for the current year and draw up action plans for the year ahead. It has a dedicated intranet site as well as an in-house newsletter presenting the AXA Group's sustainable development policy and actions.
3) Sustainable Development Governance Committee
2005 saw the creation of a Sustainable Development Governance Committee, chaired by Claude Brunet, the management board member, Chief Operating Officer. This committee is responsible for:
- Mapping out objectives for measurement, reporting and tracking tools;
- Providing support for companies to prioritize their own actions within AXA's global sustainable development strategy;
- Assessing company action plans;
- Submitting Group-level initiatives to the management board for approval.
In addition to the head of the Sustainable Development Department, this committee is made up of the Group's main functional managers and in time will include several CEOs from the most representative subsidiaries.
4) Expertise from other Group divisions
The Sustainable Development Department works closely with correspondents in the Group's various divisions in connection with their projects (procurement, marketing, brand, distribution risk management, human resources, European legal affairs).
In this way, in the insurance field, the department is able to draw on the expertise of the head of emerging risks and sustainable development from the Global Risk Management team, in charge of mobilizing the various technical teams in Group companies. The department also works closely with the Responsible Investment Research team at AXA IM.