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    1. ESG Regulation and reporting

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    ESG regulation and reporting

    20 October 2020

     

    The concept of ESG has evolved rapidly, leaving behind an uneven landscape of reporting standards and regulation. In the survey, insurers reveal a wide range of views on what they think regulation can achieve.

    To report or not to report

    Even before the recent public and media attention on sustainability, most insurers have been doing at least some reporting on their sustainability strategies, largely driven by reputational considerations.

    Still, over a third of insurers are not producing a sustainability report, and many have no intention of doing so. Their reasons range from the lack of a commonly agreed upon way to report to too many frameworks for reporting. And some insurers are fearful of the scrutiny that comes with putting out information. For example, Asian CIOs fear their sustainability efforts will be unfairly compared to the more advanced ones of European peers.

    Interestingly, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed would welcome regulators setting standards for disclosure, reflecting the idea that if regulators set up standards, including methodology and metrics, it would force all stakeholders to move at once and level the playing field. 

    Insurers are also more inclined to favour policy makers to set the standards, believing governments might be more principles-based and offer a framework into which firms can more easily fit their own approaches. Insurers are concerned that financial regulators will demand more stringent, burdensome and compliance-based ESG disclosure.

    Can sustainability be regulated?

    Insurers are quite split on the question of the role of regulation in sustainability. For example, when asked about the role of financial regulation in driving the response to climate change, most CIOs agreed it is a driver, but were divided as to whether it was really the main one. Yet whether they are in favor of it or not, many CIOs admitted that regulation has been a catalyst for action on their sustainability strategies.

    In Europe, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has acknowledged the pressing need for insurers to identify and assess the impacts of risks related to climate change, though it does not believe a fundamental revamp of its Solvency II rules is necessary. This view is shared by many insurers, who believe that ESG risk should be captured within other risk categories of Solvency II, and that any incentive to invest in ESG-friendly assets could skew investment decisions without proper risk management. 

    At the same time, many CIOs recognise that using capital charges as a lever tied to the ESG characteristics of an asset would push firms to more forceful action, potentially helping achieve broader sustainability goals. Survey responses suggest that insurers are again divided: while two-thirds favour lower capital charges on green investments, just over half favour higher capital charges for brown investments. In reality, CIOs believe capital charges are the wrong tool for the job and would instead find adequately priced climate risk more valuable.

    While insurers disagree about many regulatory concerns, there was unanimous agreement on one topic: greenwashing. All stakeholders would like regulators and policymakers to tackle greenwashing and felt that the taxonomy being developed by the European Union was a good first step on the road to standardizing ESG disclosures. 

    REQUEST THE REPORT

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    KEY TOPICS

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    The drivers of a sustainable investment strategy

    Who and what are the drivers of ESG strategies at insurers? A few visionary individuals and a combination of risk management, regulatory changes and reputational considerations.

    Read more
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    Designing and implementing a sustainable investment strategy

    Read candid insights from insurance executives as the they navigate obstacles on the path to a sustainable investment strategy, such as comparing ESG metrics, low visibility on long-term returns and applying ESG to fixed income.

    Read more
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    ESG Considerations with regards to third parties

    Asset managers can be important strategic partners to insurers and supply a wealth of practical ESG insights, from research to implementation. And they can be particularly effective in corporate engagement on behalf of their clients.

    Read more

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