To coincide with the start of the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference, this webinar presents the launch of ICMIF’s first annual Sustainable Investments Report. The report outlines the findings from the survey that was completed by ICMIF members in the second half of 2021 and details ways in which member organisations have committed their investment strategies to influence climate change.

Climate change and the broader issue of sustainability are acknowledged by many as the defining global issues of our time. The growing demands on insurers to take action to tackle climate change issues are loud and clear. Regulatory and stakeholder pressure will accelerate the need for mutuals and cooperatives to be leaders in building a more resilient planet and a more sustainable society.

In June of this year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “We are in a race against time to adapt to a rapidly changing climate. Today, we are at 1.2°C of warming and already witnessing unprecedented climate extremes and volatility on every continent. As insurers and as investors, the insurance sector has a key role to play. Every country, city, financial institution and company needs to adopt plans for transitioning to net-zero emissions by 2050. That means taking decisive action now.”

Guterres stated that insurance companies have control over USD 35 trillion of assets under management, of which the mutual sector has USD 10 trillion, and he strongly encouraged the insurance industry to align its portfolios and investments with net-zero by 2050.

ICMIF, as the global representative association for the cooperative/mutual insurance sector, has recorded and collated data that will help demonstrate, through this report and webinar, the role that mutual and cooperative insurers are playing in tackling climate change through investment.

This webinar features a fireside chat with Shaun Tarbuck, CEO, ICMIF, and Rob Wesseling, President and CEO, Co-operators (Canada).