Beyond profitability: Sustainability in Insurance
This edition provides a detailed analysis and comparison of the primary Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures reported by the four largest Dutch insurers: Achmea, a.s.r., Nationale Nederlanden, and Athora Netherlands. The report aims to highlight the opportunities and challenges these insurers face and offer insights into how they navigate the increasingly complex ESG landscape.
A significant finding is the insurers' commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, underscoring their focus on managing environmental risks. Achmea, a.s.r., and Nationale Nederlanden, as members of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance, have pledged to align their insurance portfolios with this goal, reflecting a sector-wide push towards sustainable practices. This commitment is relevant when considering the decline in total GHG emissions from 2019 to 2020, motivated mostly by COVID-19 lockdowns. As business activities resumed however, small increases in emissions were observed, with Achmea reporting the highest emissions in 2023 due to increased travel, while Athora Netherlands maintained the lowest emissions through measures like remote work and fleet electrification.
Despite these efforts, insurers face significant challenges in providing comprehensive and comparable data on financed and insured emissions due to variations in data quality and granularity. This highlights the need for standardised reporting practices to improve climate-related disclosures. In addition, insurers are making strides in sustainable investments, with a notable focus on green bonds to reduce carbon footprints. Although green bonds still represent a small portion of their investment portfolios, Nationale Nederlanden leads in absolute investment in green bonds, while Athora Netherlands has the highest representation of green bonds in its total investment assets. Additionally, a.s.r., Nationale Nederlanden, and Achmea have issued green bonds, indicating a clear move towards sustainable investment.
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