Assicurazioni Generali

In terms of its approach towards impact management, Generali acknowledges that its financing activities have both positive and negative impacts and it identified and prioritised its impacts through a materiality assessment process which included feedback from external stakeholders. The financial institution assigns the responsibility for sustainability issues to the Board of Directors and links the remuneration of its executive team to sustainability performance criteria. It also has a gender-balanced board of directors where 4 out of 10 members are women. Further, Generali discloses actions it takes to address any pay gaps, such as outreach on unconscious bias or review of hiring processes. The financial institution describes its approach to engagement on sustainability themes and impact topics with its insurance clients and investees, including the engagement escalation approach.

As a member of Net-Zero Insurance Alliance and Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, Generali has set a target of net-zero financed emissions by 2050. It discloses absolute financed emissions related to direct investments in listed equity and corporate bonds and discloses the underlying data quality. The insurance company discloses the key companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the topic of alignment with the Paris Agreement. As a member of Climate Action 100+, Generali discloses that it collectively engages with its clients on the topic of climate change. The financial institution discloses nature- and biodiversity-related impacts as one of its engagement topics with its investees.

Generali has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights and describes the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its financing activities. It also has a grievance mechanism accessible to all workers, external individuals and communities to raise human rights complaints or concerns. Further, the insurer discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by gender and age group. Generali has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, discloses a global tax strategy and its approach to lobbying and political engagement.

Generali has an opportunity to link the remuneration of its management team to sustainability performance criteria. It could also set a public commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment and reach at least 40% female representation in senior leadership positions. While the financial institution discloses the total ratio of basic salary to men and women, it has an opportunity to provide a breakdown per employee category. Generali could also publish an overview of its engagement activities across its financing activities.

While Generali has an interim emission reduction target for its direct investments in listed equities and corporate bonds, it has an opportunity to disclose an interim absolute emission reduction target which covers all its financing activities. While the insurer encourages its investees to set a 1.5°C-aligned strategy, it has an opportunity to make this a requirement. It could also disclose its financing activities devoted solely to climate solutions. No evidence was found regarding the financial institution’s approach to fossil fuels that spans across the fossil fuel value chain and across its financing activities, such as the amount or share of finance it directs towards fuels, or its stance on financing companies with new fossil fuel projects. Additionally, Generali could commit to minimising the negative impacts it has on nature and biodiversity.

To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, Generali has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards, for example, women-owned businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or low-income developing countries. It could also describe the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations.