Insuring the Transition

Introducing our new Junior Carbon Executive Buzz Brech who joined us on Monday. Buzz has recently moved to London to begin his professional life - with Nature Broking. He graduated from the University of Manchester in June, with a BSc in Management specialising in Innovation, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship. As a keen environmentalist, prior to his degree, he completed internships at THE CHEEKY PANDA LIMITED, and Filthy Food – both businesses which emphasise sustainability. Favourite nature spot : Dittisham, River Dart, Devon Buzz is looking forward to his new role as much as we are to having him on board!

Nature Broking is delighted to welcome Russell Galt, in our new Head of Science and Natural Capital role. Russell will be working with all our suppliers and developing further our due diligence framework, as well as focusing on product development, growth strategy and the establishment of a scientific advisory panel for Nature Broking. Russell is an ecologist based in St Monans, Scotland. He holds an Executive MBA and a BSc (Hons) in Ecology from the University of Edinburgh, along with an LLM in Natural Resources Law from the CEPMLP at the University of Dundee. Over two decades working to advance sustainable development, Russell has held senior international positions at IUCN, ICLEI, and Earthwatch. He specialises in(re)designing and scaling environmental initiatives, evidenced by his contributions to Freshwater Watch, the IUCN Urban Alliance, PANORAMA Cities and UN Young Champions of the Earth Prize. Favourite nature spot: Fife Coastal Path, Scotland Russell says “I am delighted to join Nature Broking at such a pivotal time in its growth and excited at the prospect of driving meaningful environmental impact.” We expect him to be very busy from the outset!

Who knew mud was so important? Fascinating to get an update on the Convex Seascape Survey. Hearing from Stephen Catlin, James Cameron, Callum Roberts and Ceri Lewis, all excellently overseen by Rachel Delhaise. Sea mud is not just critical for #biodiversity but also as a hugely potent #carbon sink. And we are only scratching the surface in our understanding. Fun fact 1: worms and other small burrowing creatures in sea mud move the equivalent volume of 12.5 Mount Everests every minute Fun fact 2: there is a word for this. #bioturbation #netzero #sustainability #insurance #ItsDownToUs

Sustainability presents innovation and growth opportunities | The need for greater multistakeholder dialogue and more partnerships Many thanks to Joe, Arpita, Michael, and the Sustainability and Climate Change Committee for inviting Professor Patrick Paul Walsh and me to speak at the Society of Actuaries In Ireland’s first Sustainability and Climate Change Forum. The organisers packed a huge amount of valuable material into four hours, which was relevant to actuaries and insurance professionals working across all practice areas and lines of business, and in the public sector. I joined a fascinating panel discussion with Aisling and Tom, expertly moderated by Arpita. The recurring theme was that sustainability presents innovation and growth opportunities. Of course, the compliance, disclosure, and risk management dimensions of sustainability are crucial, and they will drive change, but there’s also a need to explore sustainability-related opportunities that might create new types of commercial value as well as material societal impact. I shared two examples to demonstrate this point. First, Generali has teamed up with NGOs to co-create a renter’s solution to support migrant populations in Germany. Second, Swiss Re has partnered with a specialised digital health company to make its clinical standard mental health app available in the Australian disability insurance market. Thanks to Danilo and Melissa for sharing insights into these initiatives. More information and other examples are available in the comments below. Christopher, Policy Manager at the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), made an excellent point during his presentation that is worth repeating. To successfully navigate risks, (re)insurance companies must consider how their business models will need to evolve. For example, in Europe, the sale of new fossil fuel cars will be banned from 2035. To prepare for this, (re)insurers should start building the capabilities to model, price, and underwrite electric vehicles. Aisling also referenced the CBI’s new Flood Protection Gap Report. The increasing frequency and severity of climate-related events will cause this gap to grow without policy interventions, greater disaster risk reduction efforts, and financial risk transfer innovations. Otherwise, many flooding risks will become uninsurable. The insurance industry cannot address this issue alone, illustrating a crucial point about the need for greater collaboration across the public and private sectors to address sustainability challenges. #sustainability #sustainabledevelopmentgoals #insuranceinnovation #sdg17 #partnerships

Sustainable Development | Multistakeholder dialogue is critical to shaping effective markets   Many thanks to Professor Patrick Paul Walsh for delivering a fascinating, whistle-stop tour of development agendas and frameworks at the excellent Accelerate Sustainability conference in London. Professor Walsh was well placed to deliver the keynote as he was deeply involved in the negotiations for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It was important for the 100 (re)insurance executives in the room to understand how development efforts have evolved since the creation of the United Nations in 1945.   Economic growth was the priority for the first 45 years before human development received greater attention. For many years, environmental issues were viewed as local challenges before the scientific community pushed environmental sustainability onto the global agenda in the last couple of decades. The final development pillar - peace and good governance - received much needed focus during last month’s UN Summit of the Future, albeit a lot more work in this area is clearly required.   The 2030 Agenda neatly captures these four dimensions of sustainable development: economic prosperity; social inclusion and equity; environmental sustainability; and peace and good governance. Working with Professor Walsh and his UN colleagues over the past few years have been revelatory for me. The 2030 Agenda and the “interlinked and indivisible” Paris Agreement on Climate Change have informed the regulations that are dominating the insurance industry’s sustainability agendas. Many (re)insurance executives are, in my view, correctly frustrated with how many policymakers, regulators, and supervisors are driving a sustainability agenda that is heavy with compliance, disclosures, and risk management. Industry wants to innovate for sustainable development. It wants to create and grow markets that are fully aligned with the four dimensions of sustainable development. The public sector must help shape markets, not just fix their failures. How do we achieve this? Multistakeholder dialogue is critical. We need many more public and private sector executives engaging and collaborating, but it’s important to emphasise that the public sector is not a homogenous group. It includes the academic and scientific communities, governments, multilateral organisations, and civil society groups. Only a whole-of-society approach will deliver substantive progress across the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.   Hats off again to Antony, Thomas, and the wider Better Insurance Network team for delivering an excellent conference. We will hopefully see more public sector contributors at future events to help power multistakeholder dialogue.   #sustainability #sustainabledevelopmentgoals #sdg17 #partnerships