Earth Day 2024: the planet mobilises against plastic
This year’s commitment is focused on ending plastics, demanding a 60% reduction in plastic production by 2040. Generali at the forefront of the environment and climate protection.
April 22 marks Earth Day, a movement that has gathered over 1 billion individuals annually since its inception in 1970 to safeguard the planet. The aim of the 2024 edition is to eliminate plastic, in order to protect human and planetary health, calling for a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040.
This year's theme, Planet vs. Plastics, calls to advocate for widespread awareness on the health risk of plastics, rapidly phase out all single use plastics, urgently push for a strong UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, and demand an end to fast fashion.
In this context, Generali has eliminated all single-use plastic from its Italian premises and developed special awareness campaigns at Group level, encouraging all its employees in more than 50 countries to take action and providing tips on proper waste disposal, saving of resources, sustainable mobility, and a lot more that everyone can do in their daily lives to reduce their environmental impact. At the same time, Generali has continued to reaffirm and pursue its commitment to environment and climate protection.
Generali’s commitment towards a more sustainable economy and society
Generali is at the forefront in its commitment to supporting the transition to a more sustainable economy and society and aims to achieve this sustainable transformation by creating a positive impact on the environment, society, and stakeholders.
The Group has further integrated sustainability into its business and processes and considers community engagement as an integral part of its overall strategic positioning. From the outset, it has adopted clear principles to guide its decisions in this area:
- mitigating global warming and developing climate change adaptation strategies,
- reducing the consumption of natural resources and advocating for a circular economy to foster sustainable growth,
- safeguarding and restoring biodiversity, aiming to prevent pollution and preserve our ecosystems.
Protecting the environment and climate
Generali’s Strategy on Climate Change, which was approved by the Board of Directors in February 2018 and subsequently updated in July 2023, is a key point of reference for the Group, providing an overview of the decisions made to promote a fair and socially just transition to a net-zero emission economy.
Generali’s role as a Responsible Investor, Insurer and Employer
As a Responsible Business, Generali is committed to acting as:
Responsible Investor
Integrating ESG criteria, reducing GHG emissions of the Group’s investment portfolio, and increasing new and green sustainable investments.
(i) The indicator refers to the carbon footprint of direct general account investment portfolio of the Group’s insurance companies in listed equities and corporate bonds, in terms of carbon intensity (EVIC).
Responsible Insurer
Offering insurance solutions with ESG components, reducing GHG emissions from the underwriting portfolio, and supporting the sustainable transition of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
(i) Generali confirms its commitment to be transparent on virtuous behavior of its customers. Noted the evolution of the regulatory context on sustainability, it decided to change the name of the indicator from "Premiums from sustainable insurance solutions" - as previously communicated to the market - to "Premiums from insurance solutions with ESG components.
Responsible Employer
Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the work environment, upskilling people, nurturing talent in all its forms, and implementing more flexible and sustainable ways of working while measuring, reducing, and reporting the carbon footprint resulting from the Group’s direct operations.
These accomplishments mark significant progress towards Generali’s Lifetime Partner 24: Driving Growth strategic plan, signalling that there is still time to drive meaningful change acting for the future of both people and the planet.
