Earlier this month, Dutch ICMIF member Achmea announced it was once again sharpening its investment policy as of 1 January 2021 and that investments in polluting and CO2-intensive companies will be further reduced. From now on, Achmea says it will exclude companies which derive more than 5% of their revenues from coal, extraction of oil from tar sands, Arctic oil/gas or shale oil/gas. Achmea will also enter into discussions with companies which still generate small amounts of revenue from these kinds of polluting industries to ensure that they also move towards fully CO2-neutral solutions.

Achmea, the cooperative insurer of well-known brands in the Netherlands including Centraal Beheer, Interpolis and Zilveren Kruis, says it wants to contribute towards a healthy, safe and future-proof society. Therefore, only investments in climate-friendly companies will be appropriate for this mission. Achmea announced last year that it would no longer be investing in businesses that generate more than 30% of their revenue from coal or the extraction of oil from tar sands. The insurer is reducing this to 5% and this figure now also covers revenues from Arctic oil/gas and shale oil/gas.

New engagement process
Achmea’s main CSR-policy efforts are directed towards engagement with these companies so that they also will contribute to the energy transition, in line with Achmea’s ambition. Consequently, the insurer says it has decided to retain companies that still generate a small proportion of their revenue from oil and gas in the portfolio. Achmea is also starting a new engagement process to reinforce its sharpened policy.

Transition to sustainable
Willem van Duin, Chairman of Achmea’s Executive Board, said: “Achmea wants to contribute towards a healthy, safe and future-proof society. In the end, only investments in climate-friendly companies will be appropriate for this mission. We are seeing dramatic increases in the damage and disturbance caused by climate change. Eventually we only want to continue investing in companies that have a clear sustainability policy and those making an active contribution to the energy transition.”