The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 global goals aimed at reducing poverty and protecting the planet for the future. The SDGs were born at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 and are linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by 193 countries. While the SDGs describe some of the greatest challenges for governments around the world, achieving them will require collective action involving governments, civil society, the private sector, and individuals and communities.
Insurers can take advantage of new opportunities as both risk underwriters and investors to support the United Nations SDGs, a set of globally shared social and economic expectations used by both insurers and corporations as a guiding compass. are increasingly being used in a wide range of fields. Develop their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies. However, the potential role of insurance in achieving the SDGs and advancing ESG more broadly has been underestimated, particularly for broader climate and sustainability initiatives.
The Insurance Information Institute collaborated with Susan Halliday, non-resident scholar, and her colleagues at the World Bank Group on a recent report. Role of insurance in sustainable development goals, which discusses how the insurance industry can support governments and corporations making progress towards the SDGs.
Although the SDGs only mention insurance once, the sector has an important role to play, particularly in the areas of climate, safe cities, health and reducing inequality. However, for this to be fully developed the sector needs to become more involved in high-level working groups on how to make progress towards the SDGs and collaborate to generate consistent global data to play a role.
click here for Role of Insurance in Sustainable Development Goals Download report.
