Climate change, time to act
The latest phase of Generali’s Responsible Future campaign aims to increase awareness around climate change and CO2 emission reduction
The world is heating up. As CO2 fills the atmosphere, heat is being trapped, causing global temperatures to rise. The hotter it gets, the more severe the impact. Science shows that to avoid the worst climate consequences, we must limit temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5°C. Which means reducing global CO2 emissions rapidly in order to reach net-zero by 2050.
Increasing knowledge is the first step to act and tackle climate change: that is why Generali developed the “Climate Change: Time to Act” campaign as part of its efforts to raise awareness on this topic while adopting a net-zero oriented strategy for climate change across the responsible roles as investor, insurer, and employer.
“Show me the future”
Building on the strong foundation of the sustainable mindset in the Group, Generali wanted to re-engage its employees around the world with a campaign to increase awareness and knowledge about climate change and CO2 emission reduction.
The ultimate goal is to strengthen the sense of belonging to a community and stand together against climate change by underlining how even small behavioural changes can make a difference.
As an insurer, Generali’s work is all about embracing uncertainty and preparing for every possible implication to shape a safer and more sustainable future. Hence the idea of looking into a crystal ball that showcases a series of future implications based on themes linked to climate change.
Each implication features a worst-case vision, followed by a positive one that includes what Generali is doing to tackle climate change and, above all, what the future could look like if we act now compared to the consequences we might face if we fail to take action.
Drought
As drought can lead to food insecurity, reducing and managing water consumption is essential to preserving resources and mitigating its effects. When dealing with the protection of the agriculture sector, parametric insurance can reduce the impact of drought by providing quick payouts when extreme climate events happen.
Rising sea levels
Over 30% of the world population is exposed to the risk of flooding in the case of rising sea levels. When dealing with such events, risk preparedness and management are key: that is why Generali and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have developed the SME Loss Prevention Framework, an online platform that assesses risk and offers recommendations to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - starting in Malaysia and currently expanding to Southeast Asia - especially in the event of a flood.
Biodiversity loss
Supporting the development and protection of natural ecosystems, sustainable agriculture and forestry can help maintain and enhance biodiversity.
Social impact
Climate change increases economic inequality around the globe: the World Bank estimates that over 216 million people will be climate migrants by 2050. In this context, climate finance can be deployed to support developing countries in fostering their resilience to climate change.
Awareness, engagement, action
The “Climate Change: Time to Act” campaign was designed for Group employees to promote an ever more sustainable corporate culture and encourages them to take part in the dedicated training courses on sustainability awareness and climate change that are provided by the Generali Academy.
It is also a continuation of the initiatives that have already been carried out to promote a culture of sustainability at Group level and demonstrate Generali’s ongoing sustainability commitment. Among such initiatives are those dedicated to the roles Generali plays as a responsible business and the direct engagement of Group employees who shared their sustainability stories, proving that every action, no matter how little, can make a difference.
Responsible Roles
At Generali, sustainability is a necessary strategic way to approach business and not just a nice-to-have. It is about creating long-lasting value shared among a wide array of stakeholders: not only shareholders, investors and clients, but also our people, suppliers, the environment, local communities, and society as a whole.
That is why Generali has identified four responsible roles to play as investor, insurer, employer and corporate citizen.
Sustainability Game Changers
Generali employees also contributed directly to spreading awareness and a culture of sustainability by sharing their own stories, to highlight how each of us is already making great efforts to integrate sustainability into our work and in everyday life – to highlight, in other words, how everyone can be a Sustainability Game Changer.
Generali’s commitment to the environment and climate
To support the transition to a more sustainable economy and society, we adopted clear principles to guide our decisions to:
- mitigate global warming and develop climate change adaptation strategies;
- reduce the consumption of natural resources and promote a circular economy;
- protect and restore biodiversity, prevent pollution.
We put these principles into practice by monitoring and reducing the impact of the Group's operational activities, and indirect impacts related to our products, services and investments. We also collaborate with governments and associations to promote the development of system solutions.
