Environmental commitments – Global engagement

Munich Re plays an effective and demonstrable role in environmental protection. Our operations are governed by strict principles, and we have entered into corresponding national and international commitments.

Munich Re has been a party to national and international environmental and climate-protection agreements for many years. Our efforts in this respect go well beyond what is required of us by law.

Voluntary commitments: PRI and Global Compact

On 26 April 2006, we became the first German company to sign the United Nations (UN) Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), which contain principles and recommendations for institutional investors that include ecological aspects. MEAG, our asset-management arm, is responsible for their application throughout Munich Re.

We are also fulfilling our commitment to actively assume our environmental responsibility by subscribing to the UN’s » Global Compact. Our environmental guidelines set out these commitments.

Combating climate change with the Climate Group and UNEP FI

Munich Re is a member of the Climate Group. This association of international financial services providers helps corresponding companies find solutions to climate change, for example by adapting both their product ranges and their consulting services to changing environmental conditions.

Munich Re’s involvement in the Finance Initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP FI) goes back to 1999. We are also a signatory to the June 2007 UNEP FI joint declaration on climate change, which calls for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and includes a commitment to sustainable management.

PSI – Promoting sustainability in the insurance sector

Munich Re is also a co-founder and member of UNEP FI’s global Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) initiative, which has around 20 insurance-company members in all. The aim of the working group is to draft global best-practice principles and lay down specific measures for successfully implementing them, primarily in relation to ESG (environmental social governance) issues and implementation thereof in the core business of insurance companies. They relate to the entire insurance value chain: risk management, risk underwriting, product and service development, claims management, distribution and management. In addition, four guidelines are due to be signed at the Rio+20 summit in June 2012.

Selection of our environmental and climate-change memberships