October 2021 | The ICISA INSIDER
|
Insights
ESG Integration into insurance business By Raluca Ezaru, External Relations & Information Officer, ICISA How can we meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs? This is the question people living today need to answer. A question that previous generations have largely ignored, but which no longer waits for us. With all seemingly undisputable truth of climate change issues, overconsumption, demographic change or degradation of the environment, can we still look ahead for a bright, sustainable future? Will our generation make a change in the way we are currently living and really contribute to a more sustainable world? Can we reduce our impact on the world and ensure that the future generations will receive in their hands a world that can still sustain them in the long term? We should probably each of us question ourselves on this matter, but more important, companies around the world should also consider the question of “how sustainable are
|
12
we?”. A more specific and measurable way to answer this question is to look at how ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) principles are integrated within businesses. Reinsurers have highlighted the potential impacts of climate change for longer than many other industries, particularly given its impact on natural catastrophe frequency and impact. Still, the topic of sustainable development became more visible among financial sector and insurers since 2012, when the UN launched the “Principles for Sustainable Insurance”.
“We will embed in our decision-making environmental, social and governance issues relevant to our insurance business”.
