Partnering for Community Resilience
Community resilience is one of our ESG priorities. Through our partnerships with external organizations, we are supporting the development of resiliency frameworks, tools and research.
In 2015, AIG and Wood, a leading global engineering firm, formed the Resilience Solutions Initiative to reduce carbon usage and increase resiliency against climate-related risks. In 2021, we expanded the partnership to include the Institute for Future Cities (IFC) at the University of Strathclyde. This partnership brings together three global leaders in insurance, finance, science, engineering, scenario planning and urban resilience to provide an end-to-end framework for our clients to identify, prioritize and implement low-carbon energy solutions and resilient infrastructure projects.
The AIG-Wood-IFC Resilience and Sustainability Solutions Initiative has broken down the broad topic of climate change down into two addressable and intertwined workstreams: reducing carbon emissions and building resilience against the greater frequency and severity of natural disasters that occur as a result of climate change. The initiative leverages AIG’s capabilities to deliver innovative solutions for our clients and to advance sustainable urban development practices worldwide.
In 2021, the partnership created a global network of six cities designed to promote knowledge transfer and urban resilience and to expedite the transition to net zero carbon emissions. The network is comprised of Glasgow, Lilongwe, Milan, Pittsburgh, Singapore and Surat. Throughout the year, the AIG-Wood-Strathclyde team hosted a number of workshops in these cities, including one during the official Pre-UN Climate Change Conference (COP) summit in Milan and a day-long workshop during the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP-26). The program is focused on translating the takeaways from prior engagements into an actionable “forward program” that can help the partners and cities achieve their resilience and sustainability objectives.
The partnership also hosted a business roundtable at United Nations Industrial Development Organizations (UNIDO) 2021 Bridge for Cities event that focused on connecting cities that shared a pursuit of climate goals. Featuring remarks from UNIDO Deputy to the Director General Hiroshi Kuniyoshi, this event fostered a discussion regarding the vital role successful partnerships will play in achieving climate-related objectives.
AIG is a member of the Geneva Association's Climate Change & Environment (CCE) working group as well as a member of a new advisory committee that will launch in 2022, and focus on a resilient net zero transition. As members of the CCE working group, AIG experts participated in the development of the Task Force on Climate Risk Assessment’s final report, which aims to foster stronger multi-sectoral collaborations to address climate change. The report will guide insurance companies on how to include climate risk assessment in decision-making processes and what information should be disclosed to regulatory bodies and rating agencies.
AIG has been active in the IDF for many years, helping to shape the strategy and focus of the IDF’s efforts to increase resilience in the world’s most prone and vulnerable communities. As part of its membership with the IDF, AIG committed both financial and intellectual resources to aid in developing the Global Risk Modelling Alliance. This alliance of expert risk analysts aims to develop an open risk modeling platform available to all vulnerable communities and provide the technical support these communities need to manage natural disaster exposure proactively, rather than reactively. The Alliance builds capability by working side-by-side with local specialists to develop defined risk management programs and delivers their expertise through three main components: 1) an open risk modeling platform, 2) models & data for public good and 3) technical assistance service. To initiate this program, the IDF announced at COP26 a partnership with the V20, a group of 55 finance ministers from vulnerable countries, and has received an €11 million commitment from the German government to further the initiative.
In June 2021, our Chairman & CEO, Peter Zaffino, joined the Sustainable Markets Initiative Insurance Taskforce convened by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and chaired by the CEO of Lloyd’s to accelerate the pace of industry transitions towards a more resilient and sustainable future. As a member, we committed to supporting the global transition by developing innovative products and services to support customers through the transition and encourage climate innovation. We also committed to mobilizing capital to provide structures to improve disaster response and recovery in vulnerable economies to protect against climate change impacts.
AIG contributed to the development of the Sustainable Products and Services Showcase,supporting green innovation across multiple sectors and geographies by presenting the wide-ranging innovative insurance solutions currently available to customers to develop, invest in and scale their sustainability initiatives. These efforts demonstrate how the insurance industry continues to be a catalyst for progress as it relates to climate-positive action.
AIG is also participating in defining the industry’s ability to enable multi-sector transitions through the development of an approach to measure the carbon footprint across underwriting portfolios and establishing a framework to track the global insurance industry’s ability to support the transition towards net zero across multiple industries and geographies.
“Our industry is investing in global education to provide the clients and industries we serve with sensible paths toward a cleaner future. With our scale, deep knowledge and risk mitigation expertise, our shared commitment helps future-proof communities by addressing societal and environmental factors while enabling economic progress and supporting our clients as they develop transition plans to operate more sustainably.”
Peter Zaffino, Chairman & CEO