Sustainability at Allianz Trade: we act today to protect tomorrow

Every day, climate change and its ever-more serious impact are in the news. It’s clear that every company, government, individual and community has to act. For a number of years at Allianz Trade we have been advancing sustainability in our business, operations, and governance, and have made significant progress towards our objectives.

First, because we believe that companies that operate sustainably develop their resilience.

Second, because as an insurer, we have the ability to detect new vulnerabilities and new ESG risk factors that could affect our clients across their value chains.

Third, as a global trade enabler, we support the economy’s transition to Net Zero by 2050 within a 1.5°C trajectory by integrating ESG in our day-to-day business, from underwriting to new solutions.

Together with our parent company, Allianz, we have decided to articulate our sustainability vision  and roadmap, with pillars and measurable targets. We aim to make our trajectory clear to our stakeholders – employees, customers and partners, but also investors, journalists, regulators, and candidates.

We’ve organized our roadmap around pillars that cover all the ways in which we are engaging within our stakeholders such as customers and employees. Our objectives are closely aligned not just with those of Allianz, but also internationally recognized standards such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. I’ll outline the pillars briefly here, and you can find out more in the Sustainability section of our website.

Business and governance – we are integrating sustainability fully into our core business and decision-making processes, building on the foundations of the  Allianz Group’s Sustainability Integration Framework. We have already integrated ESG criteria in our country risk analysis, our commercial underwriting processes, and our investment decisions.

We believe that a robust sustainability strategy starts with governance and processes – this is the most technical part but it’s essential to the smooth deployment of the roadmap and its long-term impact, giving clarity to all stakeholders about what is in their scope, what do they contribute to, and what they can expect from others. Our Group Sustainability Office is leading the way internally, supported by a dedicated Board Member and a cross-functional committee. Because we want to foster a sustainable mindset in our industry, we must lead by example.

Operations – this part concerns the resources we use on our sites (including energy, water, and paper), the waste we produce, and the travel we conduct. We’ve made good progress, and have reduced our total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita in our operations by 67% by the end of 2023, compared to 2019. We already source 100% of the electricity we use from renewable sources¹.

Decarbonization pathways – this part concerns the footprint of our customer portfolio. We are working to measure the environmental footprint of our clients so that we can build sector pathways, both to guide our risk appetite and support our customers in their own ESG strategies. We want to help our customers shift to a more sustainable way of doing business.

Sustainable solutions – We have developed our own sustainable solutions framework, as part of which we are assessing, adapting and improving our products according to the guidance of the European Union’s taxonomy for sustainable activities. This will enable us to better serve our customers, especially when it comes to their Net Zero transitions.

In all of these, we want to go beyond current regulation and standards. “Minimal compliance” is not enough - we want to be exemplary, leading our industry in the transformation towards sustainability and boosting climate literacy within our network. All in all, we aim to act for impact.

For every company, in every sector, there are both challenges and opportunities in the transition. Every company that wants to be more resilient and play its part in addressing environmental risks is embarking on its own transition – and that includes a lot of our customers and partners. Nobody is asking why we are doing this – it’s evident. The conversations we are having are about how companies are transitioning towards sustainable growth.   

In my view, what sets us apart at Allianz Trade is precisely this - how we are working towards reaching our objectives. My team, the Group Sustainability Office, works hand-in-hand with credit analysts, commercial and risk underwriters, and operations, marketing, and finance teams – we each have a part to play in driving our roadmap. I like to think of the GSO as a lighthouse – we are here to guide and support our colleagues, but ultimately, they are the ones sailing the ships and charting the course. Sustainability is a common pathway, and we, at Allianz Trade, are all on board to achieve this ambition.