"Worldwide, natural disasters are expected to cause losses of 310 billion US dollars this year, but less than half of the economic damage is insured. The effects of the climate crisis are becoming increasingly dramatic. We are not only seeing this in the insurance industry, the whole world is seeing it. We must act and we are determined to do our part and change our business in the process. We are taking the path to net zero emissions step by step, decisively and transparently," says René Knapp, board member at UNIQA Insurance Group AG and responsible for asset management and ESG issues, among other things, at the presentation of a first UNIQA transition plan (1). It describes the steps UNIQA is taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the insurance business, in investments and in its own operations to a minimum level in order to subsequently achieve net zero emissions. UNIQA is the only Austrian insurance company to date to have such a plan. UNIQA will achieve net-zero emissions in its business model (insurance business, own operations) by 2040 in Austria and by 2050 in the entire group (investments, insurance business, own operations).
"Sustainability is not a trend, but our responsibility - and is therefore firmly anchored in UNIQA's corporate strategy," emphasises Knapp, adding: "As UNIQA, we are clearly committed to the Paris 1.5 degree target." No continent in the world is heating up as quickly as Europe, namely twice as fast as the global average.(2) According to Knapp, the insurance industry is one of Europe's largest institutional investors with around EUR 9.5 trillion in assets under management (3), makes a significant contribution to the European economy and can therefore support the transition to net zero emissions.
In the area of corporate business, it makes a big difference which companies are insured under which conditions and how they are supported in changing their business models towards greater sustainability. In addition, UNIQA is also taking the appropriate steps within its own company to convert its own operations to net zero emissions. UNIQA relies on scientifically sound methods to achieve these goals, for example the methodology of the renowned Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and the environmental management system in accordance with EMAS and ISO14001.
"As an insurer, the UNIQA Group clearly assumes responsibility for both direct and indirect emissions - those that arise from investments and property insurance in the real economy," explains Martin Zenker, Head of Group ESG Office at UNIQA. "Our goal is therefore net-zero emissions. This means that we reduce our own emissions as best as possible, with honest reduction measures. Only in the very last step, when avoidance and reduction have been fully exhausted, do we rely on compensation measures and so-called carbon removals," says Zenker, explaining the approach. For this purpose, action plans, measures and intermediate targets have been developed, which are also reviewed and monitored by independent institutions such as the Green Finance Alliance or the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance.
Get out of coal, oil and gas
A central component of this first transition plan is the gradual phase-out of coal, oil and natural gas in the company's own investments and insurance business.
No investments in fossil fuels
UNIQA will no longer make any new investments in coal, from 2025 there will be no new investments in oil, and from 2026 there will be no new investments in natural gas either. In a further step, by the end of 2030, all investments in companies that generate more than 5 percent of their income from activities related to coal or oil will expire. For natural gas, the time will come in 2035. At UNIQA, the entire value chain is excluded, i.e. from exploration (of any kind), processing, distribution to power generation. These measures are supported by so-called engagement. "We try to convince our investees to transform the business model so that we can continue down this path together with them," says Zenker.
insurance coverage for corporate customers
UNIQA also pursues a consistent sustainability strategy in property insurance, particularly in underwriting (the process of individual risk assessment and cover creation for insurance requirements, especially in the corporate customer sector): Since 2019, UNIQA has no longer written any new business in coal. From 2024, no new business in oil will be taken on, and from 2025, no new business in natural gas will be taken on.
UNIQA is actively supporting existing corporate customers in transforming their business models to ensure that they no longer operate in coal and oil by 2030 and no longer operate in natural gas from 2035. (Further details in the “Statement of Decarbonisation”)
"As a company with over 200 years of history, we always have the next generations in mind - this is especially true when it comes to climate protection. Our offer: We support companies in becoming climate protectors themselves. We have even founded our own company for this purpose," explains Knapp.
UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions supports the transformation
The subsidiary UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions, founded in 2024, supports corporate customers with risk issues, sustainable transformation and ESG topics.
"Our risk engineering experts are on site with our customers every day and experience first-hand how companies are facing an increasingly complex business environment: from geopolitical challenges to regulatory sustainability requirements to new or rapidly changing risks, such as the consequences of climate change. UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions therefore goes beyond the classic role of an insurance company: We support companies in identifying, assessing, eliminating or minimizing potential dangers at an early stage. Particular attention is paid to the quantitative assessment of risks in order to enable well-founded decisions to reduce risk," explains Olivera Böhm-Rybak, CEO of UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions.
UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions is currently active in Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia; expansion into other countries is planned. "The transformation process towards resource-efficient management poses major challenges for many companies. We want to accompany our corporate customers on their way to a sustainable and at the same time economically successful future - we see this as part of our social responsibility," Böhm-Rybak concludes.
Already over two billion Sustainable Investments
The UNIQA Group finances issuers who contribute to reducing emissions or social projects. In 2021, the investment started with around 1.3 billion euros; within two years, this amount was increased by two thirds and was already 2.17 billion at the end of 2023; currently (November 2024) it is 2.38 billion euros. The share of sustainable investments in the total portfolio value will be around 10 percent at the end of 2023, doubling within two years.
"The fight against climate change is a global and long-term challenge, and success can only be achieved jointly. We are not only doing our part, but also want to be pioneers: the phase-out of fossil fuels and the investment of over 2 billion euros in sustainable projects show that we are not just talking, we are acting," emphasises Knapp.
Target achieved earlier: “Carbon Emission Intensity” indicator
The “Weighted Carbon Emission Intensity” indicator is used to assess the CO2e intensity of the UNIQA investment portfolio. In simple terms, this indicates the tonnes of CO2 equivalents per million euros in sales. In 2021, the value was 99 t CO2e/million euros in sales. The aim was to reduce this value to 84 by the end of 2024, but in fact 70 t CO2e/million euros in sales were already achieved by the end of 2023 - a reduction of around 30 percent.
UNIQA is the first Austrian listed insurance company with EMAS
UNIQA will have achieved net zero emissions in its own operations by 2040 in Austria and by 2050 in CEE. UNIQA is the first Austrian listed insurance company to introduce the internationally recognized environmental management systems EMAS and ISO14001 at all of its own sales locations in Austria. These regulations can be used to systematically reduce companies' negative environmental impacts. At UNIQA in Austria, environmental performance is thus brought together in a holistic approach and systematically improved.
The following points are the cornerstones for achieving the net-zero targets in operational management for the Austrian sales locations:
Purchase of exclusively green electricity certified according to Ecolabel 46 from 2024
Increasing the share of self-generated photovoltaic electricity in total electricity consumption to over 101 TP3T by 2035
Phase-out of all oil and gas heating systems by 2035 at the latest
Conversion to 100 percent electric cars in the fleet by 2030 at the latest
UNIQA has already achieved many successes in the context of environmental management: Since 2024, all Austrian sales locations have been supplied exclusively with Ecolabel 46-certified green electricity. Electricity and heat consumption has been reduced by around a third in recent years through energy monitoring, LED lighting and optimizations in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning areas, and the proportion of electric cars in the fleet is already 65 percent. In addition, more than one in three sales locations is equipped with a photovoltaic system (total installed capacity currently around 630 kWp). In order to avoid waste and increase the separation rate, recycling collection points are used at the headquarters and in all 9 regional directorates.
The first steps towards achieving net zero have also been taken across the group: the entire vehicle fleet will be completely converted to electric cars by 2040. A group-wide strategy is still being developed in the building sector. However, the aim is to gradually scale up the best practice measures at the Austrian site to the entire group.
