On 5 June 2023, people around the globe are celebrating World Environment Day, a day to raise awareness for the protection of the environment. In honour of this day, ICMIF is proud to showcase some of the remarkable initiatives undertaken by its members to safeguard the environment and protect local communities.
Embedding sustainability into strategy
Many ICMIF members are embedding sustainability into their strategy and translating this commitment through into their business operations. One way they are doing this is through reducing their carbon footprint and one example of this is Argentinian member RÃo Uruguay Seguros which underwent a digital transformation and now provides 100% of its services online, reducing its carbon footprint by 62%.
Ecclesiastical (UK) has taken a number of measures to achieve its goal of reaching net-zero by 2040, including moving to more energy efficient offices and launching an electric car scheme allowing colleagues to lease an electric car of their choice. A number of other members have put similar initiatives in place to encourage the use of more energy efficient vehicles. Groupe IMA (France) has enlisted hydrogen-powered taxis to offer customers a zero-emission mobility solution in case of a breakdown or accident, and RAC WA (Australia) is allowing members to test drive an electric vehicle for a week.
MAIF (France) switched to geothermal energy to power its head office and has begun ensuring that recycled parts are used to repair its members’ cars. Additionally, MAIF has pledged to give 10% of its annual profits to climate solidarity and biodiversity regeneration projects.
Sustainable investing
Some members have chosen to protect the environment through their investment portfolios. Achmea’s (Netherlands) Innovation Fund invested in Land Life Company, supporting its mission to help restore two billion hectares of degraded land globally, reducing a large amount of CO2 from the atmosphere in line with the Paris Agreement, and ensuring ecological recovery.
Swedish member Folksam increased its ownership in SSAB, a steel company, to support its transition to fossil free production and take long-term responsibility for the company’s climate transition effects. Folksam’s long-term climate target is to transition its investment portfolios to net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050.
Several ICMIF members have signed up to the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance, an international initiative led by institutional investors committed to transitioning their portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Alliance currently has 86 asset owners and USD 11 trillion in assets under management. Of the 86 institutions who have joined the Alliance, nine are ICMIF members; Folksam and Swiss Re which were founding members of the group, along with Unipol Group, R+V, HUK- Coburg, Co-operators, MAIF, Aema and African Risk Capacity.
Responding to climate change and the increase of natural disasters
Climate change poses significant challenges, and members are actively responding to this by working to make their communities more resilient. Asia Affinity (Hong Kong) has been working on solutions to build, enable and protect marginalised coastal communities which are facing the effects of climate change. Its seaweed initiative, in partnership with MARI Oceans and Sea Green establishes the necessary infrastructure for tropical seaweed farming.
In the Philippines, where deadly typhoons have been increasing in frequency, farmers are particularly at risk and many do not have access to affordable insurance. CLIMBS (Philippines) in partnership with IBISA Network (Luxemburg), Global Parametrics (UK) and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) has launched a parametric insurance product designed to protect the livelihoods of farmers and make them more resilient to issues which are being exacerbated by climate change.
ICMIF-calibrated Insurance SDG Calculator
The ICMIF-calibrated Insurance SDG Calculator, developed in collaboration with Swiss Re, launched at the ICMIF Centenary Conference in Rome last year. The tool provides ICMIF members with a tangible way to measure their efforts towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and enables them to identify areas for development. Members can then leverage the ICMIF network to share best practices and develop their strategies, fostering a collaborative approach towards a sustainable future.
For more information on sustainability initiatives from ICMIF and/or our members, please contact Liam Carter, SVP Sustainability, ICMIF.
