International Cooperative and
Mutual Insurance Federation

On the first day of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and as an extension of their commitments “Towards Sustainable Development”, six European mutual and cooperative insurance groups, all members of Euresa - DEVK, Macif, Maif, Matmut, P&V and IMA – have joined up with the GERES organisation and the myclimate Foundation to create a Climate Solidarity Platform® for their 16 million policyholders.

This shared platform, accessible from each of the companies’ web sites, offers mutual and cooperative policyholders the chance to personally help fight against climate change by reducing their environmental footprint and by voluntarily supporting an international programme of solidarity.

Developed in partnership with the CO2Solidaire programme run by GERES in France and Belgium and myclimate Foundation in Germany, the platform has been designed as an educational experience allowing policyholders to:

• Better understand the problems of climate change and discover ways to reduce their environmental footprint through advice and eco-friendly actions;
• Calculate the estimated greenhouse gas emissions produced by their car and home, two key areas of cover for the insurance sector and among the highest contributors to global warming;
• Find out about the initiatives being taken by each of the six insurance companies to assess/reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions.

Macif, Maif, P&V and IMA are also offering their policyholders the chance to offset all or part of their unavoidable emissions by supporting a development project run by GERES in Cambodia since 1997. The aim of this project is to reduce the pressure on forest resources and to combat the local energy difficulties by donating better stoves that make more economical use of wood as fuel. With more than 1.6 million units donated since 2003, this programme is currently the biggest in the world.

Likewise, DEVK policyholders have the chance to support one of the myclimate Foundation’s projects in Madagascar which donates solar-powered and energy-efficient stoves which are better for both the environment and the health of the local people.

Limiting climate change whilst combating poverty – these are the aims of the Euresa-CO2Solidaire-Myclimate platform; an unprecedented European initiative that brings together policyholders, mutual and cooperative insurers and NGOs to work together on the same challenge.

Euresa is a cooperative and mutual structure that brings together fourteen European insurers from across 10 EU member states. Collectively they represent nearly 24 million members and clients and a cumulative turnover of €21 billion. Euresa is a member of ICMIF as are the majority of its members in their own right.