The inaugural Business and Finance ESG Awards were held in the Mansion House, Dublin this week. The awards celebrated businesses in Ireland who are actively striving to address and progress on ESG issues.
Aviva Ireland was shortlisted for two awards, the ESG investment award and the Net Zero Carbon award and was delighted to take home the award for Net Zero Carbon on the day.
Aviva announced its sustainability ambition in March last year, a fundamental tenant of which is its goal to become a net zero business by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement. This spans across all areas of Aviva and the goal to be net zero applies to its supply chain and operations by 2030, and to fully decarbonise its entire investment portfolio by 2040.
In winning the Net Zero Carbon Award category, Aviva Ireland was recognised for its commitment to the net zero transition and as the first global insurer to announce a 2040 net zero goal, and for demonstrating leadership in this space.
A net zero strategy is one whereby all emissions across the entire business chain are reduced to zero or as close as possible to zero, coupled with implementing carbon removal projects to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. In addition, Aviva Group has committed over €100 million to nature-based solutions for carbon sequestration.
Aviva is introducing a number of products to help support its customers to make the changes that its research shows they want, including its new multi-asset fund range that are designated as ESG funds under EU regulation.
With a reduction of over 90% in its operational emissions since 2010, and a commitment to transforming its entire fleet to electric by 2025, great strides have already been made in this space, but Aviva will continue to make changes for good to ensure it reaches its goal of net zero by 2040.