Ten years and counting: Lloyd’s recognised for environmental leadership by ClimateWise
On the tenth anniversary of the founding of ClimateWise, a collaborative effort by the insurance industry to address global warming, Lloyd’s was again recognised for its environmental leadership and wide-ranging efforts to tackle climate change.
Lloyd’s retained its fifth place ranking in the table of top environmental performers across the insurance industry. This includes efforts by the Corporation and nine managing agents within the market.
Building resilience
In particular Lloyd’s ability to inform public policy making was highlighted as a key strength by PwC, which provided the final measurement of Lloyd’s performance against the ClimateWise Principles.
Lloyd’s, which sees it as a critical priority to highlight climate risks, has a wide range of policy engagements that help to build climate resilience. Earlier this year, for example, Lloyd’s published a paper on stranded assets which demonstrated how certain assets could lose value as societies and economies adapt to climate change. Lloyd’s Future Cities report, also released in 2017, explored ways to improve the ability of cities and their infrastructure to withstand and recover from disasters, and suggested a range of pathways to take action.
Responsible investments
This year, Lloyd’s was also one of the top scorers in demonstrating that it incorporates climate-related considerations when making investment decisions. For example, the Corporation of Lloyd’s, which manages the central assets of the market – known as the Central Fund – has announced its intention to implement a coal exclusion policy as part of its responsible investment strategy.
The new policy will apply to coal-related companies within the segregated portfolios of the Central Fund. Segregated portfolios account for approximately 75% of Central Fund assets. The coal exclusion policy will come into effect from 1 April 2018. Many of the Lloyd’s market managing agents have also incorporated climate change into their investment strategies.
Going green
PwC also heralded Lloyd’s efforts to reduce its own environmental impact. In 2017, Lloyd’s total recycling rate was 81%, which equates to 196,050kg of waste. This means Lloyd’s recycles roughly 3.8kg per employee, per week. These recycling efforts have saved 1,207 trees. Meanwhile, 5 tonnes of coffee ground was converted into renewable energy in 2017. And since 2008 Lloyd’s has reduced its overall energy use by 22%.
More than 30 insurance companies are ClimateWise members. ClimateWise's six core principles form the framework of Lloyd's approach to responding to climate change.