Ping An Insurance

In terms of senior leadership accountability, the responsibility for sustainability issues within Ping An Insurance lies with the board of directors.

Ping An Insurance discloses the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, and the rationale for choosing these priorities. As a member of Climate Action 100+, it discloses that it collectively engages with its clients on the topic of climate change. Moreover, Ping An Insurance discloses the aggregate amount and share of finance it devotes to climate solutions while specifying what these solutions are. Additionally, it discloses time-bound targets for its climate solutions and aims to finance RMB 650 billion in climate solutions by 2025. Ping An Insurance also discloses its absolute financed emissions and the underlying data quality and coverage of its financed emissions. Furthermore, it discloses nature- and biodiversity-related impacts as one of its engagement topics with companies to which it provides financial services.

Ping An Insurance discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by age group, gender and an additional indicator of diversity (educational background). Furthermore, it discloses a global tax strategy. Ping An Insurance also includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships.

In terms of its approach to senior leadership accountability, Ping An Insurance has an opportunity to link the remuneration of its executive and management teams to sustainability performance criteria. Moreover, it has an opportunity to describe its engagement approach on sustainability themes and impact topics with clients. The insurer could provide a public commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment at the group level and reach at least 40% female representation in senior leadership positions. In addition, Ping An Insurance could disclose the ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category, and the actions taken to address any gender pay gaps.

Ping An Insurance has an opportunity to disclose a target to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050 and specify that it engages with companies on the topic of 1.5°C alignment, rather than on climate change generally. Furthermore, Ping An Insurance could align its climate solutions (green investments) with internationally recognised frameworks and disclose progress against the targets it has set for its climate solutions. While Ping An Insurance discloses that it is committed to minimising the negative impacts of its operations on nature and biodiversity, it could provide a similar commitment regarding its financing activities. No evidence was found regarding Ping An Insurance’s approach to fossil fuels that spans across the fossil fuel value chain, such as the amount or share of finance it directs towards fuels, or its stance on financing companies with new fossil fuel projects.

Ping An Insurance could provide a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights laid out in the UN Guiding Principles and the ILO declaration on fundamental rights at work. It could establish a confidential grievance mechanism accessible to all workers, external individuals and communities to raise human rights complaints or concerns. Ping An Insurance could also describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially its financing activities. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, it 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.