Strengthening business resilience

KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft and Zurich Commercial Germany have entered into a partnership to advise on the management of physical business risks and transition risks in connection with climate change.

As part of the strategic partnership, Zurich and KPMG are jointly developing customised climate scenario analyses for their customers. The aim is to help companies strengthen their physical and operational climate resilience, assess financial impacts along the entire value chain, develop strategies for the transition to a decarbonised economy and take advantage of the opportunities that arise.

To this end, the new offering combines the expertise of Zurich's Zurich Resilience Solutions business unit in assessing physical risks with KPMG's know-how in assessing transition risks and identifying measures to reduce these risks. These include regulatory changes, effects on corporate reputation, shifts in market preferences, new standards and technologies.

This new type of analysis enables companies to take a holistic approach to managing climate risks. This enables them to assess and implement adaptation and risk mitigation measures and pursue strategies to avoid damage from natural hazards. In addition, the collaboration between KPMG and Zurich creates the basis for long-term investment strategies related to climate change and for sustainability reporting in accordance with the legal requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

"The partnership with KPMG once again underpins our efforts to accompany and support companies worldwide in overcoming the challenges of climate change," emphasises Petra Riga-Müller, Board Member Zurich Commercial Insurance Germany. "Various factors such as extreme weather events pose a threat to companies and communities worldwide. But political and social climate requirements also pose ever greater challenges. Together with the experts from KPMG, we want to address precisely these issues and support companies in recognising and assessing climate risks at an early stage and taking holistic action." The service was initially launched in Switzerland in September and is now being expanded to the German market.

"Effective climate risk management has become a priority for all companies. In order to strengthen corporate resilience sustainably and along the entire value chain, medium and long-term changes in the risk landscape must be taken into account now. By combining Zurich's strong capabilities in the area of physical risks with KPMG's expertise in transitory risks, we enable companies to make informed, strategic decisions based on a comprehensive assessment of specific climate risks and consideration of CSRD," says Goran Mazar, Partner KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft and Head of ESG and Automotive in EMA and Germany.

About KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

KPMG is an organisation of independent member firms with more than 65,000 employees in 143 countries and territories. KPMG is also one of the leading auditing and advisory firms in Germany and has around 13,100 employees at 26 locations. Our services are organised into the Audit, Tax and Advisory divisions. Audit centres on the auditing of consolidated and annual financial statements. Tax stands for KPMG's tax advisory activities. The Consulting and Deal Advisory divisions combine our high level of expertise in business, regulatory and transaction-orientated topics. As a legally independent commercial law firm, KPMG Law is also associated and closely linked with KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft.
 

About Zurich Resilience Solutions

As part of the industrial insurance division Zurich Commercial Insurance Germany, Zurich launched the "Zurich Resilience Solutions" division in 2021. The insurer is thus providing its industrial customers with even more targeted support in risk prevention issues and has created a new business unit for this purpose, which is part of a global initiative of the Zurich Group. Zurich Resilience Solutions offers services designed to increase a company's overall resilience and complement traditional insurance products. The offer

Clemens Reisbeck

Deputy Head Corporate Communications
KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

T +49 89 9282 1722
creisbeck@kpmg.com