Indosuez Foundation in Switzerland starts 9th year of support with four new environmental protection and social development projects

Geneva, 2 February 2022 - This year, the Indosuez Foundation Switzerland will support four new projects led by Swiss and international associations in South Africa, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Upper Guinea, for more than 140,000 Swiss Francs. With nearly 30 initiatives financed since its creation in 2012, the Foundation continues to support local communities in environmental projects, encouraging knowledge transmission, young people’s emancipation and the preservation of nature.

The Indosuez Foundation Switzerland, which will celebrate its 10^th anniversary this year, continues to support environmental projects with a strong economic and social impact for vulnerable communities around the world. An "Advisory Committee" made up of volunteer employees identifies the projects in line with its support policy (or CSR). In Switzerland, each year, the Indosuez Foundation also allows employees of the Indosuez group in Switzerland (Indosuez and Azqore) to share their multidisciplinary skills, as volunteers or project leaders, within its corporate volunteering programme and in particular, solidarity missions carried out during Citizen Days.

Working every day in the interest of our customers and society

Jean-François Deroche, CEO of Indosuez Wealth Management in Switzerland and Chairman of the Board of the Indosuez Foundation in Switzerland, said: "The Indosuez Foundation's mission in Switzerland is part of Crédit Agricole group's collective commitment to CSR Project, in particular to environmental protection and social development. Working towards a more sustainable development model contributes to the motivation and satisfaction of our employees. In 2021, the mobilisation of more than 180 employees to support solidarity initiatives is tangible proof of this."

Valeria Cholat, Director of Communications and Member of the Board of the Indosuez Foundation in Switzerland, said: "The Indosuez Foundation is an open place where collective and collaborative intelligence is embodied, where each employee, on an equal footing, shares his or her skills and ideas, in all humility and with kindness."

New projects supported in 2022

This year, the Foundation is supporting four new projects by the following charities:

• The Olive Leaf Foundation has developed a soil regeneration project in South Africa (near Cape Town). This commitment will allow, in the long term, a preservation of the ecosystem and the biodiversity and will contribute to the well-being of the communities.
• Swiss-based organisation Medair will dig pipelines and wells in southern Madagascar to tackle the region’s extreme chronic drought. The organisation also provides hygiene training to the community, and manages water transportation. 
• The Magis Foundation supports the Loyola Centre for Ecology and Justice (LCEJ) in Trincomalee, North East Sri Lanka, founded in 2019. The centre encourages sustainable practices by providing a common space to launch new environmental initiatives such as creating organic gardens or supporting low-income families’ entrepreneurial projects.
• The Lausanne-based association Arborise works for sustainable reforestation in Upper Guinea. In the frameworks of its projects, local farmers are involved in harvesting, disseminating seeds of many tree species and protecting the replanted plots. Farmers use the seedball technique (balls of seeds thrown on the fly with local species). This programme, planned for 1,200 hectares, will enable local communities to preserve their natural heritage.

Press contacts

Melinda Raverdy, melinda.raverdy@ca-indosuez.ch, Indosuez Wealth Management

Laurence De Cecco, laurence.dececco@blossom-com.ch, blossom communication

About Indosuez Foundation in Switzerland
Created in May 2012 and recognized as a public utility, the Indosuez Switzerland Foundation supports local communities through projects addressing environmental issues that have both a social and economic impact (global reach). The Foundation also supports the voluntary engagement of Indosuez and Azqore employees in social and environmental missions with non-profit partners.

About Indosuez Wealth Management in Switzerland
Indosuez Wealth Management in Switzerland is one of the leading institutions in the Swiss financial centre and is currently one of the top five foreign banks in the country. In addition to wealth management activities, the bank in Switzerland is active in the areas of Transactional Commodity Finance, Commercial Banking and Bank Logistics. Its roots date back to 1876, the year Crédit Lyonnais, one of the great ancestors of the current Crédit Lyonnais group, set up in Geneva. Its teams include more than 1,000 wealth management specialists based in Geneva, Lugano and Zurich as well as in Asia and the Middle East. They combine their knowledge of the local environment with the extensive expertise and scope for action of the global Indosuez Wealth Management network and the Crédit Agricole group. The Swiss platform steers the development of wealth management activities in Switzerland, the Middle East and Asia, and at 31 December 2020 had total client assets of CHF 39.3 billion.