Sustainability

Insured Emissions and Claims Carbon Footprint

Insured Emissions and Claims Carbon Footprint

So far, most of the insurance industry’s work around climate and greenhouse gas emissions has focused on direct operations and investment portfolios. Next, insurers should establish baselines for their underwriting portfolios and supply chains, in which claims settlement plays a crucial role.

The insured emissions and the claims carbon footprint complement each other fittingly. The insured emissions are relevant for commercial insurance and it’s mainly a question of disclosing which type of companies and industries “you are willing to do business with”. The claims carbon footprint, on the other hand, works across both retail and commercial insurance and only focuses on the actual footprint of the insurance product itself.

Sustainable insurance must include climate actions

ESG and sustainability in general is a broad topic covering much more than just climate related questions. We would argue, however, that of all the potential sustainability related ambitions, combating climate change must be the most important one. Our vision is that the global insurance industry will reach net zero emissions in 2040. Therefore, while we think it’s important and commendable that insurers adopt the Principles for Sustainable Insurance, we also recommend that insurers seek out and implement additional frameworks that have a more climate specific agenda.