AIICO Insurance Plc, Nigeria’s leading insurance company, says the company’s commitment to the wholesale adoption of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and undiminished achievement of highlighted titles of the 17 sustainable development goals by 2030 will always be unwavering company policy.
The global acclaimed ESG is a framework used to assess various sustainability and ethical issues that focuses the company’s environmental impact on the planet including how businesses manage energy use, waste, pollution, and compliance with environmental regulations; following is the ‘Social’ relationship with employees, suppliers, customers, and communities including issues like human rights, diversity, equity, and employee safety. Closing it is ‘Governance’ which weighs concerns leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, shareholder rights, and strong governance that ensures a company operates ethically and transparently.
These goals including the 17 UN social development goals with 2030 as benchmark cover a wide range of areas, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. They are part of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and provide a blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all.
In her presentation at a recent one-day training workshop organised by the underwriting company for members of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE), in Lagos, Mrs. Abimbola Shobanjo, Head, Corporate Responsibility, and Sustainability, highlighted the company’s commitment to ESG and contribution to highlighted SDGs.
She said AIICO has introduced climate-smart initiatives, Green office practices and sustainable resource management e.g. calculating baseline emissions, reducing paper consumption as well as adopting hybrid work arrangements aimed at protecting the environment.
On the social side, she said company is ensuring gender diversity to fostering a supportive work culture. She said the milage the company had done would be defined in its upcoming employee engagement survey to include a diversity and inclusion section, community programmes and outreach (CSR initiatives like health, education, financial inclusion).
Shobanjo said its governance mode play out in its commitment to ethical business practices and transparency, strong leadership and internal governance frameworks with regular audits and compliance checks, complying with local and global regulations.
AIICO SDGs spread is wide and still stretching to accommodate more to the existing initiatives: Pink by AIICO, ActionAid Nigeria, AIICO Revive, AIICO Blood Drive, World Malaria Day, Health & Safety at AIICO, Global Money Week, Girls in Tech, Academic Support, School Children Outreach Programmes. Others are AIICO Graduate Trainee Programme, Diversity & Inclusion, International Women’s Day, Tree Planting, Agric Support, AIICO Farming Club, Work from Home (WFH), and Centralised Printing.
The company’s programmes dials lined up include strengthening environmental programmes (More climate action – GHG emission calculations, waste reduction – process digitalization, recycling); Expanding social impact programmes (Community outreach, employee well-being); Enhancing corporate governance (More training for leadership, continuous assessment and improvement on internal controls) and ESG Integration (ESG integration into business operations – ISO 26000 SRMS).
She listed three key areas that ESG matters; first, Investor interest: investors she pointed out prioritize companies that show a strong commitment to ESG as they tend to be more sustainable and lower risk. Following is long-term business value where ESG-driven companies build trust, loyalty, and resilience against social and environmental risks. She reiterated that regulatory pressure burrowing into international standards like the UN SDGs, UNEP Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI), and the UN Global Compact are driving companies to take action.
Featured picture, Left-right: Adebola Basibo-Odoru (Annuity Product Officer), Leonard Okereafor (Agric & Emerging Risk Manager), Abimbola Shobanjo (Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Manager), Segun Olalandu (Head, Marketing & Communication), Nkechi Naeche-Esezobor (Chairman, NAIPE), Joseph Ogedengbe (Annuity Product Manager) and Ademola Adenekan (Communication Manager).
