Responsible investments

We are global institutional investors and asset management is a key aspect of the insurance business. It has a significant impact on the real economy, allowing us to actively influence areas such as environmental protection and respect for human rights and labour rights.

We are signatories of the United Nations Global Compact and the Principles for Responsible Investments (PRI) and for a number of years now we have been basing our investment strategies also on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria, without sacrificing profitability. In addition, we have continued to uphold the principle of protecting our most sensitive asset: our reputation.

Generali Group formalized its commitment to responsible investment in 2006 and in 2010 its own Group Ethical Guidelines were approved. In 2015, we further developed our approach in the Responsible Investment Group Guideline document.

In particular, we identify, assess and monitor the investments that are most exposed to social, environmental and corporate governance risks for all our Group insurance companies’ portfolios. 

In 2019:

311.7 billion euro
Direct investment in equities and bonds in accordance with the Responsible Investment Group Guideline

34.6 billion euro
AuM managed with ESG criteria

The Group's objective is to leverage its role as an institutional investor to foster change through investment. The Group uses dialogue to encourage issuer companies to act responsibly, asking them to justify their conduct if it does not meet the sustainability standards set by the Group. 

For the wider purpose of steering the role of the Group as an active owner, we defined a comprehensive Group Active Ownership Framework, regulated by a Group Guideline document. The Active Ownership Group Guideline defines the principles, main activities, and responsibilities leading the role of the Group as an active owner. In this role the Group, as a long-term liability-driven institutional investor and assets owner, has a fiduciary duty towards its stakeholders and takes action accordingly by (i) monitoring investee issuer companies, (ii) engaging them on financial and non-financial topics including ESG issues, and (iii) voting at general meetings for the dissemination of best practices in terms of governance, professional ethics, social cohesion, environmental protection, and digitalization.

The Active Ownership Group Guideline has been drawn up in compliance with the obligations introduced by the Shareholder Rights Directive II as regards the engagement policy of institutional investors (Art. 3g of Directive (EU) 2017/828 amending Directive 2007/36/EC) and duly takes into account best practices from international standards to which the Group adheres.

Within the wider Group Active Ownership Framework, the integration of ESG aspects is also governed by the Group voting principles. The exercise of voting rights is steered and coordinated at Group level, to align voting choices to the investment strategy, the Group values and the issues identified in the materiality matrix. 

The Group contemplates in its strategy investments in companies, projects or investment funds aimed at improving the living conditions of the communities in which it operates or at reducing risks and mitigating the effects of climate change, with the overarching aim of generating a positive social and environmental impact, and contributing to the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, while maintaining an adequate financial return.