Varma’s investment portfolio records 11% reduction in absolute emissions

Written by Adam Cadle

30/03/2023

The absolute emissions of Varma’s investment portfolio were down 11% at the end of 2022 compared to 2021, its latest annual and sustainability report has revealed.

The climate allocation accounted for 24% of this, i.e. €13bn. The insurer’s goal is to cut the entire investment portfolio’s absolute emissions by 25% by 2025 and by 50% by 2030, and to increase the proportion of the climate allocation to 25% by 2025.

Of Varma’s listed investments, 2% were in coal companies and 0.3% in oil exploration companies at the end of 2022. It is committed to exiting from thermal coal investments by 2025 and from oil exploration by 2030.

“We have also started to prepare for the exclusion of banks acting as investment intermediaries that fund fossil fuels by monitoring the amount of financing they provide to companies that make use of coal, oil and gas,” Varma sustainability director Hanna Kaskela said.

In 2022, Varma signed the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), through which it committed to setting near-term science-based climate targets within the next two years.

“By committing to the SBT initiative, we want to increase the transparency of our operations and ensure that our climate actions are aligned with global targets, because we expect the same from our investees,” Kaskela stated.

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