ICA launches insurer roadmap to net zero

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has released a landmark paper outlining the way insurers can achieve net zero emissions for their operations by 2030 and across the entirety of insurers’ activities by 2050. 

Towards a Net Zero and Resilient Future was authored by Boston Consulting Group for the Insurance Council and draws on extensive consultation with the AUD60 billion general insurance sector over the last 12 months.

The climate change roadmap charts a path for insurers to achieve net-zero by 2030 for their own operations through measures such as investing in energy efficiency, rooftop solar for office buildings, and transitioning corporate fleets to electric. 

It also outlines a pathway for insurers to undertake the more difficult task of reducing emissions associated with underwriting activities, the claims supply chain, and investments, achieving net zero no later than 2050. 

Insurers are on the frontline of extreme weather impacts and have been strongly advocating for improved measures and investments to better protect against extreme weather risk. 

The implementation of this new roadmap will place insurers at the vanguard of the financial services sector when it comes to acting on the cause – not just the impacts – of worsening extreme weather. 

A number of insurers are already aligned with the roadmap, while others will use the report to chart the operational and strategic changes required to meet its aims.

Insurers are already taking action to reduce emissions in a variety of different ways, from setting a shadow carbon price to ensure investment portfolios align with the economic transition already underway through to building electric vehicle charging infrastructure and underwriting clean energy technology of the future.