Varma becomes first Finnish pension insurer to gain SBTi approval

Written by Adam Cadle

06/10/2023

Varma has become the first Finnish pension insurance company and the third pension firm in the world to receive official validation for its emission reduction targets, which are based on the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Varma’s science-based target is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions related to its own operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 60% by 2030 compared to the 2021 level. In terms of indirect emissions (Scope 3), a target has been set for Varma’s investments in listed equities, corporate bonds and real estate funds. In these asset classes, Varma’s target is to increase the share of companies committed to the SBT initiative to 51% by 2027. In 2021, 28% of these investees had set their own science-based targets.

Listed equities, corporate bonds and real estate funds make up 45% of Varma’s €57.4bn investment portfolio.

“It is very important to us that our climate targets are based on science. The climate is warming at an alarming rate, and emissions must be reduced immediately if we want to stop global warming. We want to be sure that our targets are aligned with international climate agreements,” Hanna Kaskela, senior vice president of sustainability and communications at Varma, stressed.

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