Canadian ICMIF member Co-operators has announced updated climate investing targets, including a goal to increase its climate solutions* investments from a USD 2 billion baseline in 2024 – representing 21% of the company’s investment portfolio to USD 3 billion by 2030. These heightened targets demonstrate Co operators commitment to decarbonise the economy, accelerate climate adaptation and navigate the challenging impacts of climate risks.
“We have the opportunity, and the responsibility, to invest in ways that support a more sustainable future for Canadians, and our communities,” said Rob Wesseling, President and CEO of Co-operators and Chair of ICMIF. “Our new climate solutions target, alongside our broader sustainability goals, reflect our deliberate commitment to fostering resilience, advancing the low-carbon transition and building financial security for generations to come.”
“Climate-related risks like wildfires and flooding have continued to rise dramatically, increasing economic impacts across Canada. These negative trendlines create an urgent call to action, and climate investment is a powerful way for the business community to respond,” said Chad Park, VP Sustainability & Citizenship at Co-operators. “We’re proud to ally with an international community of climate-concerned investors mobilising their capital to help enable solutions.”
To ensure that this increased investment meaningfully and measurably supports sustainability efforts and decarbonisation goals, Co-operators says it is adopting an updated investment framework co-developed with Addenda Capital, an asset management company and subsidiary of Co-operators.
“Our new framework, drawing upon global best practices, is designed to enable institutional investors and asset owners to grow their capital while investing in ways that align with a transition to a net-zero economy and to finance solutions to the immense challenge of climate change,” said Roger Beauchemin, CEO of Addenda Capital. “We’re proud to support Co-operators in achieving their ambitious climate and impact investment targets – and we encourage other to follow suit and join us in catalysing a more sustainable market.”
Co-operators 2030 Sustainability and Impact Investment Goals
In addition to its existing commitments to achieve net zero operations by 2040 and net zero investments by 2050, Co-operators has four interim 2030 portfolio climate and impact goals:
1. Climate solutions:
Goal: To increase investments allocated to climate solutions from the 2024 baseline of USD 2 billion to USD 3 billion by year-end 2030.
Progress to-date: At the end of 2024, Co-operators had invested USD 2 billion into climate solutions. This amount represents 21% of the company’s investment portfolio, and over 76% of its impact investment portfolio. Financing was provided to projects focused on energy efficiency, clean transportation and renewable energy, generating 51.2 million MWh of renewable energy – enough to provide electricity to over 4.4 million homes for one year
2. Impact and climate:
Goal: To reach 50% of its assets under management in impact or climate transition investments by year-end 2026, and 60% by 2030.
Progress to-date: Surpassing its interim goal, Co-operators says it has successfully invested 52.6% of its total portfolio (CAD 7.35 billion) in impact or climate transition investments at year-end 2024.
3. Hard to abate sectors:
Goal: To completely phase out unabated thermal coal (coal burned without carbon-capture to reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions) across its entire investment portfolio by 2030.
(Progress to be reported by 2030.)
4. GHG emissions intensity target:
Goal: To reach a 40% reduction in financed emissions intensity (tCO2e/$M invested) of its listed equity and corporate bond portfolio by 2030 (year-end 2029) vs. year-end 2020.
Progress to date: At year end 2024, Co-operators had reduced the emissions intensity of its portfolio by 10.9% vs. 2020, and 31.8% from 2019.
*Climate solutions are defined as investments in economic activities considered to contribute to climate change mitigation (including transition enabling) and/or adaptation, in alignment with existing climate related-sustainability taxonomies and other generally acknowledged climate related frameworks, as defined by the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance Target-Setting Protocol Fourth Edition. Co-operators was the first Canadian insurer to join the NZAOA.
The Alliance includes over 80 asset owners from across the globe that have committed to transitioning their investment portfolios to net-zero by 2050. These include ICMIF insurer members: Aéma Groupe (France); African Risk Capacity Ltd (South Africa); Folksam (Sweden); HUK Coburg (Germany); MAIF (France); R+V Versicherung AG (Germany); and Unipol (Italy).
More information on Co-operators climate-related targets and progress is available at cooperators.ca/integratedreport and in its climate report at cooperators.ca/reports.
