Hearts in Action - AXA gets involved

For AXA and its employees, responsibility for people and our environment are causes close to our heart. This is the reason that thousands of AXA employees take part in social projects around the world every year, including Switzerland of course. This year we’re promoting Swiss waterways, their riverbanks as well as forests and moors.

Voluntary work has long been a tradition for us: in 1991, Claude Bébéar, former CEO of the AXA Group, set up the AXA Hearts in Action campaign, which is an international volunteering program. Under the program, thousands of AXA employees take part in social projects around the world - Europe, the US, Asia and Africa - either in working hours or in their free time. The assignments are spread over three areas: the environment, education and social matters. 

Committed to the future

In 2018, over 34,000 staff around the world completed an assignment to help society or the environment. AXA also donated EUR 25.8 million and made EUR 600,000 in-kind donations for good causes last year.

The AXA Hearts in Action campaign is not just about devoting time to a good cause. As a modern progressive employer, we would like to give our staff the opportunity to get involved in trying to create a better future. At the same time, participants learn about various issues during their assignments, such as the environmental pollution caused by waste. The common experiences also promote team spirit among our employees and act as a motivating factor. 

Helping hands are also in demand in this country

There are many projects that businesses or individuals can support in Switzerland. We are always reviewing the focus of our campaigns. In 2017, our staff in Switzerland, for example, donated 2.5 tons of relief goods for Syrian refugees in Jordan. This year, the subject of volunteering assignments was the environment and climate change. Two hundred staff helped maintain the mountain forest in Einsiedeln, cleaned the River Sihl in Zurich and planted native flora on the Neeracherried lowland moor. Find out more about the impressions of this year’s assignment here.