ICMIF member LähiTapiola is the first Finnish company to sign the United Nations Environment Programme’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI), which support the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement and provide an international framework for the development of responsible business.
The principles emphasise the role of the insurance industry in risk management, as a risk bearer and as an investor in promoting environmental, social and economic sustainability. By signing the principles, LähiTapiola, as a group, is committed to promoting responsibility and sustainable development in all insurance operations.
In a recent press release, LähiTapiola said that sustainable insurance is a strategic approach in which all functions in the insurance value chain as well as stakeholder interaction are done in a responsible and proactive manner. The aim is to reduce risks, develop innovative solutions, support business and promote environmental, social and economic sustainability.
“I am proud of the fact that the LähiTapiola group is the first Finnish insurance group to sign the Principles for Sustainable Insurance. Responsibility is one of the key choices in our safety of life strategy and is based on reciprocity. We want to bring responsibility close to our customers and we are committed to integrating sustainability into all business locally and nationwide. The UN initiative is also a sign of the insurance industry’s desire to be involved in building a sustainable society for future generations,” said Juha Koponen, CEO of LähiTapiola.
Commitment to the Principles for Sustainable Insurance will bring the promotion of sustainable development and responsibility more strongly into the daily life and development of the Group’s operations. The UN principles also guide more targeted development of responsibility and improved stakeholder interaction. The signing of the Principles for Sustainable Insurance supports the goals and implementation of LähiTapiola’s responsibility roadmap.
The UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance are:
- We include environmental, social responsibility and governance issues relevant to our insurance business in our decision-making.
- We work with our customers and partners to raise awareness of environmental issues, social responsibility and governance, manage risks and develop solutions.
- We work with governments, authorities and other stakeholders to promote a wide range of environmental, social responsibility and governance practices in society.
- We demonstrate the realization of our responsibility and the transparency of our operations by regularly publishing information on our progress in implementing the principles.
- Compliance with the principles is publicly reported to the UN annually.
Read more about the UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance: https://www.unepfi.org/psi/
Other ICMIF member signatories include: Achmea (Netherlands); Desjardins (Canada); Länsförsäkringar (Sweden); Peak Re; Swiss Re; and The Co-operators (Canada).
