Liberty Mutual, Chubb make major ESG commitments
The industry's latest ESG announcements address global emissions and Canadian pipeline coverage.
Liberty Mutual Insurance has committed to slash 50% of its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG), based on 2019 levels, by 2030, while Chubb Ltd. has made it public that it has stopped insuring the Trans Mountain Pipeline in Canada.
Scope 1 emissions are released by a directly owned or controlled source, while scope 2 are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
In support of its GHG reduction goals, Liberty Mutual will work to increase operational efficiencies and identify renewable energy sources to leverage across its real estate holdings, according to the company. Additionally, Liberty Mutual has joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials and will play a role in that organization’s Insured Emissions Working Group, which will develop the first global standard to measure and disclose insured GHG emissions.
“We look forward to supporting the important and urgent work of the Insured Emissions Working Group,” Rakhi Kumar, Liberty Mutual Insurance senior vice president of sustainability solutions, said in a release. “There is a significant need to create a methodology for calculating and evaluating underwriting portfolios that are both meaningful and measurable, giving insurance companies useful information and a framework for reporting that is critical to facilitating a transition to a low-carbon future.”
The new pledge on GHG reduction follows several environmental, social and governance commitments, including being the first U.S. property & casualty insurer to sign onto the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, according to the company.
Chubb cuts ties with Trans Mountain
The Financial Times broke the news on Chubb ending coverage for the pipeline project, with a company spokesperson explaining: “Chubb does not provide insurance coverage for any tar sands projects.”
“Chubb’s announcement is a critical win for the environment and indigenous rights. This makes it the 16th insurer to drop coverage of or rule out insuring the Trans Mountain tar sands expansion project,” Elana Sulakshana, energy finance campaigner at Rainforest Action Network, said in a release. “But we need more information to understand if this is a future-facing exclusion policy that restricts insurance for tar sands companies and projects like Trans Mountain moving forward.”
This summer, the insurance company had faced pressure from activists over its insuring of the tar sands project, which has been opposed by indigenous communities along its planned route, according to Insure Our Future.
The organization, which aims to hold the “industry accountable for its role in the climate crisis,” noted Chubb was an early leader in climate change with its 2019 coal policy. The policy on coal includes the end of new policies for companies that generate more than 30% of revenues from thermal coal mining and will phase out existing coverage for these companies starting next year.
“By dropping Trans Mountain, Chubb has started to walk the talk around the climate crisis,” Charlene Aleck of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust Initiative said in a release. “The Trans Mountain Pipeline and expansion is a fuse to the carbon time bomb known as the Alberta Oil Sands that violates Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s inherent and constitutionally protected rights. We are committed to stopping this destructive and risky project on behalf of the salmon, the orcas and for future generations of people who live in our territory.”
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