Río Uruguay Seguros (RUS) in Argentina has become the latest ICMIF member to join as a member of the United Nations Environment Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), signing the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI).

Launched at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, the PSI serves as a global framework for the insurance industry to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities. The PSI Initiative is the largest initiative between the UN and the global insurance industry with close to 300 members around the world.

By joining the PSI, RUS hopes to contribute, through its activity, to sustainable development. There are currently 20 ICMIF member organisations that are signatories of the PSI, plus ICMIF itself, which is a Supporting Institution for the PSI.

UNEP sets the world’s leading sustainability frameworks to help the financial industry address global environmental, social and governance challenges. The UNEP FI, founded in 1992, cultivates leadership and promotes sustainable market practices over time, supporting the implementation of global policies and regional programmes in Africa and the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Americas and the Caribbean, and North America.

The member entities of this initiative collaborate on a voluntary basis and UNEP FI provides them with the tools and guidance necessary for their businesses to transition to an accessible and inclusive economy.

Sustainability for better business performance

At the upcoming ICMIF Biennial Conference 2024 in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Belén Gómez, Advisor to the President and Coordinator U-RUS, from RUS will present in a session that looks how sustainability has become one of the strategic imperatives for the entire insurance industry, influenced by growing market expectations, investor pressures and regulatory compliance. For many mutual/cooperative insurers, sustainability is more than adopting sustainable practices to drive positive environmental and social change – it is also good for business. Belén will present on how RUS has created business value from embedding a sustainability strategy, in terms of opportunities for product innovation and optimisation, better risk management, and a more resilient operating model.