As experts in risk, our purpose is to give people and businesses the confidence to realise their ambitions. Climate change presents a major challenge to that, and as a global insurer and reinsurer, almost every part of our business is affected by climate-related risks.
This is why we’re helping our customers and business partners to adapt through our products and services, and why we are evolving as regulatory obligations and external expectations change.
In our Climate Report 2022, you can read about out the progress we have made on environmental issues – the ‘E’ in ESG – over the last 12 months, as well as our plans to build on that momentum in the year ahead.
Highlights include:
- New greenhouse gas (GHG) targets set, using Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) methodologies, which support our position as a signatory to the 2015 Paris Agreement and align with a 1.5°C net-zero by 2050 trajectory;
- Reduced our total operational GHG emissions by 36% in 2021, driven by continued adoption of renewable energy sources and a one-off drop in business travel;
- Our exclusions policy is now in force with big-ticket risks beginning to be categorised by ESG status and exposures tracked over time, with risks outside of appetite starting to be declined;
- We became members of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) as both an asset owner and asset manager, and the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI);
- Established new Sustainability Steering Committee, chaired by our Group Chief Executive Officer, driving actions and delivery at a Group level and tracking Group and entity-level performance;
- New ESG objectives now included in Group Executive Committee member’s performance markers;
- Contributing to industry progress through the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), promoting green (re)insurance products and services and developing a common supply chain approach;
- Donated $1.5 million and spent over 1,000 hours volunteering in support of good causes such as the Country Trust’s ‘Climate Action Farm in a Box’ scheme for schools in the UK. In 2021 our support enabled 1,000 ‘Farm in a Box’ kits to be delivered to 620 schools, supporting c.26,000 children in higher deprivation parts of the country.
