UNEP climate expert praises Brazil, North America and Morocco for sustainable insurance progress

Written by Adam Cadle

01/03/2018

Sustainable insurance agendas and developments in Brazil, North America and Morocco have all been welcomed by the UN Environment’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative programme leader Butch Bacani.

Speaking at the Sustainability Summit in London today organised by Insurance Asset Management, Pensions Age, Better Society and Charity Times, Bacani said “early success stories” have all been witnessed in these geographies. “Brazil is the only insurance market in the world to come up collectively with a set of ESG goals for its entire insurance industry,” he said. “It is writing its own story”.

The first goal of the Brazilian insurance industry is to ensure 40% of insurers integrate ESG criteria into their risk underwriting policies. Goal 2 is to ensure that 30% of insurers will have an ESG engagement programme targeted at brokers and goal 3 is to have 50% of the insurance industry integrating official public policy from municipal, state and federal governments into their social responsibility policy. Finally, goal 4 is to ensure 50% of insurers report on ESG criteria.

Bacani also highlighted and praised Morocco’s work on developing the world’s first national sustainable insurance roadmap and the “unprecedented PSI commitment” by the Moroccan insurance industry.

The PSI has been signed by 12 Moroccan insurers and reinsurers, the Moroccan insurance and reinsurance federation and the Moroccan insurance regulator.

Bacani also spoke of the creation of the North American Forum for Resilience and Sustainability stemming from a landmark event convened by the PSI and Munich Re , in New Jersey, in November 2017.

In March 2018, the first-ever roundtable of Mississipi River mayors and insurance industry leaders will occur in Washington, DC, Bacani outlined, with the immediate aim of encouraging a dialogue between mayors and insurance industry leaders on how to better manage disaster risk along the Mississippi River corridor. The medium-term aim will be to form a partnership to support the first-ever regional assessment of disaster vulnerability along the Mississippi River corridor, to implement measures to reduce disaster risk, and insurance solutions and investments that build disaster resilience.

Bacani added: “A risk-aware world, where the insurance industry is trusted and plays its full role in enabling a healthy, safe, resilient and sustainable society.”

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