This series of four webinars offers an opportunity to hear best-practice from the mutual/cooperative sector and other leaders in the industry to help ICMIF members increase their sustainability engagement and drive forward leadership in all aspects of responsible investing and sustainable finance.

These webinars are specifically aimed at investment, finance and sustainability professionals from ICMIF membership but they are open to all employees at ICMIF member organisations who have an interest in these topics.

Shaping our leadership role in sustainable finance

Monday 21 September, 3pm BST (UK time)

In November 2019, ICMIF announced a global partnership with The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S). Established by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2004, A4S aims to make sustainable decision-making “business as usual”, inspiring leaders to adopt sustainable and resilient business models; to transform financial decision-making to enable an integrated approach; and to scale up this activity across the global finance and accounting community. ICMIF and A4S have been working together for several years with some ICMIF members also involved. Indeed, The Co-operators in Canada and Securian Financial in the USA were founding members of the A4S CFO Leadership Network in both their respective countries.

This webinar represents the launch of the ICMIF Circle of Best Practice designed to inspire ICMIF members to drive a fundamental shift towards resilient business models and a sustainable economy. It introduces the work of A4S, their goals and objectives and highlight further opportunities for ICMIF members to become part of A4S’s global CFO Leadership Network. The CFOs of The Co-operators and Securian Financial also share their reflections on their first-hand experience of working with A4S as well as discuss why embedding sustainability into everyday decision-making is important to their companies.

Speakers:

• Jessica Fries, Executive Chairman, Accounting for Sustainability (A4S)
• Karen Higgins, EVP and Chief Financial Officer, The Co-operators (Canada)
• Warren Zaccaro, EVP, Chief Finance Officer, Securian Financial (USA)

Green bonds and why organisations should invest in them

Tuesday 22 September, 10am BST (UK time)

As the world battles to overcome the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is a growing vision to ‘build back better’; and, indeed, ‘greener’. COVID-19 could prove to be a turning point in the fight against climate change and the essential need to decarbonise the planet. This response is no longer the ‘right thing to do’ but imperative to create a sustainable future; and green bond investment is one way to help get us there. In 2019, global green bond and green loan issuance rose to USD 258 billion, a new global record up 51% on 2018: but it still represents just 4% of issuance globally.

In this webinar Justine Leigh-Bell explains what green bonds are and how they are providing a financing mechanism to build more resilient, sustainable and environmentally-friendly communities for tomorrow. Justine will be joined by YIva Wessen, President and CEO of ICMIF member Folksam (Sweden). Folksam is one of the world’s leading investors in green bonds with total investments now exceeding USD 3 billion. Folksam is also a leading advocate in the UN-backed Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, where companies commit to carbon neutral investment portfolios by 2050 (Folksam itself has committed to be carbon neutral by 2030).

The webinar also discusses why Folksam invests specifically in green bonds and why Sweden has issued more green bonds than any other nation worldwide since 2015.

Speakers:

• Justine Leigh-Bell, Deputy CEO and Director Market Development, Climate Bonds Initiative (UK)
• Ylva Wessén, President and CEO, Folksam (Sweden)

Greening the investment portfolio

Tuesday 22 September, 2pm BST (UK time)

Five years on from the Paris Accord, and the wide-ranging implications of climate change are becoming clearer and increased social activism is beginning to influence public policy and decision making. Investors and the companies they invest in are coming under growing pressure from a range of stakeholders to address climate risks. Climate experts Steve Waygood, Chief Responsible Investment Officer, Aviva Investors and Ben Carr, Analytics and Modelling Director, Aviva share the latest thinking on the micro – greening your investment portfolios to the macro – where do our individual efforts fit into the big picture regarding the Paris commitments.

During this webinar, Steve and Ben also share information on what ICMIF members can do to start this transition for those about to embark on this journey.

Speakers:

• Steve Waygood, Chief Responsible Investment Officer, Aviva Investors
• Ben Carr, Analytics and Modelling Director, Aviva

Using the SDGs in business strategy for mutual value creation

Wednesday 23 September, 1pm BST (UK time)

Insurers play an integral role in contributing to society. This includes generating economic sustainability and alleviating poverty; building healthy and resilient communities; and tackling climate change – contributions that underpin the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the 2030 Agenda. Some ICMIF members have already placed the SDGs at the centre of their businesses, aligning strategic priorities and long-term goals with the SDGs, and also integrating sustainability and ESG targets into their reporting processes.

In this webinar, Ann Sommer, Member of the Management Board, Länsförsäkringar AB (Sweden) presents a case study highlighting how Länsförsäkringar is using the SDGs to showcase the work being done to contribute towards the 2030 Agenda and how addressing the SDGs brings to life the mutual value proposition across the business.

Speakers:

• Ann Sommer, Member of the Management Board, Länsförsäkringar AB (Sweden)