Environmental

Generali plays an active role in supporting the transition to a low carbon economy by mitigating the risks of climate change and through promoting greater environmental responsibility.

Climate is a key focal point for Generali. Because of this, we took the opportunity to update our goals relating to how we integrate climate risks and opportunities across the different elements of our business. 

Key climate goals include:
 

Investments

  • Gradual decarbonisation of the direct investment portfolio to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. This commitment is consistent with the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. According to the 2029 intermediate targets, Generali will decrease the Carbon Footprint in terms of carbon intensity (EVIC) of the corporate portfolio by 60% and achieve a 60% reduction of the carbon intensity per sqm in Real Estate. In 2024, Generali already had 51% reduction of Carbon Footprint in Listed Corporate, and a 45% reduction of the Carbon intensity of Real Estate.
  • + € 12 billion in investments in climate solutions by 2027, with year-end 2024 as baseline. This class covers Bonds, Real Estate and Funds.
  • Exclusion of new investments in, and progressive divestment from, coal-related businesses exceeding coal materiality thresholds, as defined in the Technical Note of Generali Group Strategy on Climate Change. The ultimate aim is to fully phase out issuers which operate in the thermal coal sector by 2030 in OECD countries and by 2040 in the rest of the world.
  • Exclusion of investments in issuers producing unconventional fossil fuels.
  • Engagement with top carbon footprint contributors defined yearly, to reach at least 20 engagements on a five-year period by 20291. 

 

Underwriting

  • Reduction of the already minimal current exposure to the thermal coal sector in order to reach zero exposure by 2030 in OECD countries and by 2038 in the rest of the world.
  • Working towards our aim of no longer insuring upstream oil and gas activities. 
  • Our competence center will continue to research best practices for underwriting the specific risks of renewable energy.


Group operations

  • A 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of company operations (Scope 1+2+3) by 2030 against a 2019 baseline, with the final long-term ambition of anticipating the net-zero requirements by 2035 (i.e., -90% vs 2019 for Scope 1 and 2).
     

Sustainability Bond Framework

  • Encompassing our environmental and social impact goals, we unveiled our Sustainability Bond Framework as a tool for green and sustainability bond issuances.
  • Generali was the first major European insurer to issue green bonds and develop a Sustainability Bond Framework, this includes financing and refinancing of Green Assets. 
  • Through our Sustainability Bond Guidelines, Generali aims to promote integrity in the market for Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds. To do this the use of bond proceeds must align with at least one of 9 categories, or more, 6 of which are carried over from our Green Bond Framework, targeting investment opportunities such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable water management, among others. 

[1] The baseline for the new target is zero as of January 2025, since the mentioned 31 engagements refer to the previous target cycle.