International Watch Company (IWC): Best CSR Switzerland

Yan Lefort, Global Department Manager Partnerships & Sponsorship

IWC watches offer a timeless product, seamlessly blending traditional skills and the latest in technology. Aimed squarely at upmarket clients who appreciate both exquisite design and peerless craftsmanship, IWC watches do not convey fashion statements nor flash opulence. Rather, IWC watches just aim to tell the precise time.

Resisting the temptation to produce mass market watches with a lifespan roughly equal to their battery charge, IWC quietly does its part towards the furthering of sustainable manufacturing. The company was an early adopter of corporate social responsibility (CSR), embracing a number of practices that aim to deliver a tangible contribution to the well-being of all stakeholders. Already in 2007 the company achieved carbon neutrality, the first watch company to do so. 2017 will mark ten years since this market leading achievement.

Adhering to a holistic approach that permeates all corporate processes, IWC ensures its long-term success. The business is run with a view to guaranteeing profitability not just for the next quarter, but over the next century. IWC expects its suppliers to follow a similar approach, preferring to establish solid long-term partnerships, as opposed to incidental touch-and-go relationships.

The same philosophy is applied to IWC client relations. The company stands behind its products and offers to service any of its timepieces regardless their age: an IWC watch is meant for life and, indeed, to traverse generations.

The Swiss precision watchmaker has partnered with a number of entities serving equally timeless causes such as the Charles Darwin Foundation, the leading scientific research organisation on the Galapagos Islands. IWC offers its clients an opportunity to become benefactors to the foundation and thus gain access to insights and facilities not open to the general public.

The CFI.co judging panel commends IWC for not merely adhering to international best practices, but for setting the benchmark and offering others a model to follow. The company excels at fostering a corporate culture in which the bottom line is but one component in a comprehensive suite of performance parameters. The judges are delighted to offer International Watch Company the 2015 Best CSR Switzerland Award.