Climate advocacy policy and participation in public debate

Generali believes that climate change is a serious threat to the planet and that it is the responsibility of companies to help tackle it. Our corporate climate advocacy policy is designed to ensure that the company plays a constructive role in the global effort to combat climate change.

At Generali, we are committed to supporting climate policies in line with the Paris Agreement, in order to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Through the Group International Public Affairs and Regulatory Advocacy function, the company advocates directly to policymakers and indirectly through trade associations for strategies that promote an orderly transition to a low-carbon economy, including balanced policies and projects that:

  • promote transparency from companies on their climate impact and emission reduction strategies;
  • support the development and deployment of clean and accessible energy technologies;
  • gradually reduce the use of carbon-intensive energy technologies while respecting the principles of Just Transition;
  • help developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.

On this last point, the company has also signed a multi-year partnership with UNDP with the aim of increasing the resilience of the countries involved - specifically, developing countries - and SMEs, and closing the protection gap.

At the workshops where we take part, we carry out an exercise to analyze the different potential positions we can support and choose the one most in line with the Paris Agreement.

The most relevant activities in this area are monitored and publicly reported through:

  • our Group Integrated Annual Report;
  • our Group website;
  • the rating agencies in which we participate;
  • the EU Transparency Register. 

Also through public reporting, we are constantly reviewing our activities with a view to continuous improvement.

Over the past few years, we have participated in numerous initiatives and working groups focused on climate and more generally on environmental topics.

We have taken part in the Italian National Dialogue on Sustainable Development project sponsored by UNEP and the Italian Ministry of Environment, for the preparation of the paper Financing the future on climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives through insurance and investment activities. In this context, we have organised high-profile institutional events including the presentation in Italy of Interim Report of the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on sustainable finance.

We have also contributed to the analysis of the impact of climate change on insurance companies and the role our industry can play in mitigation and adaptation, participating in the drafting of Position Paper “The heat is on” published by CRO Forum. We have also participated in the “Asset Owner Disclosure” project aimed at collecting examples of good practices, including the case of Generali, for the effective management of climate change impacts in the insurance sector. The project is promoted by ShareAction, a network of non-governmental organisations for the dissemination of responsible investments practices and shareholder activism.

We have also supported the Disclosure, Measurement, Management and Mitigation of Climate Change Risk for Companies project promoted by the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, for scientific research and awareness raising on the risks associated with climate change within the financial sector and the Italian business world.

Finally, we have also participated in important international initiatives, such as:

  • the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), to promote voluntary financial disclosures on the risks, opportunities and strategies related to climate change management. We have publicly endorsed and we also participate in the UNEP FI PSI –TCFD Pilot Group to define the guidelines for insurance companies that plan to adopt the recommendations of the TCFD;
  • Paris Pledge for Action (2015), to bring together private sector actors willing to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement (COP21);
  • CDP Climate Change program (since 2010), is the main international database that collects data on greenhouse gas emissions of participating companies and the disclosure on their management of risks and opportunities related to climate change. It is the main reference for financial sector operators wishing to integrate the climate dimension in their investment assessments;  
  • Climate Risk Statement of The Geneva Association (2014), with which the leading insurance and reinsurance companies assume a common set of commitments on the measures to be taken to address and mitigate climate change; 
  • The position papers of the European Financial Services Roundtable (EFR) of October 2021 on financing the transition towards a sustainable future and of November 2023 on a simpler regulatory framework for sustainable finance;
  • The European Commission’s Climate Resilience Dialogue, through our membership in the CRO Forum, in the subgroup dedicated to Adaption Investment, which looks at how risk management and building resilience can contribute to reduce economic losses from climate change.