OREANDA-NEWS. The Talanx Group has published a Sustainability Report for the first time. The report covers business activities from 1 January to 31 December 2015 and it documents the increasingly sustainable alignment of the insurance group. “The Board of Management adopts an integrated, sustainable approach to corporate management,” commented Herbert K Haas, Chairman of the Board of Management of Talanx AG. “As an international insurance group, employer and long-term investor we are dedicated to responsible corporate governance aimed at sustainable value creation. We are increasingly including environmental, social and governance aspects in our business.” In future, Talanx will publish a Sustainability Report every year. The Group has also published goals and targets for sustainability management for the first time. 

The Talanx Group sees its operations as an insurance group affected by a range of sustainability factors such as climate change, demographic development and cultural diversity. This report primarily covers strategy, goals and targets, action areas and measures for sustainability management. The key measures include integration of sustainability aspects in investment during the course of 2016, energy savings and emissions reductions by measures such as increased use of renewable energies and by climate-neutral printing of annual reports, and the use of environmentally friendly paper. Talanx is also working on the introduction of a Code of Conduct for suppliers which will cover environmental aspects, and employee and human rights along the supply chain. In addition, there are plans for appointing women to at least 25 percent of vacant management positions in Germany.

ESG screening for investments in preparation
The Talanx Group is currently making concrete plans for carrying out Group-wide ESG screening (environmental, social and governance) of investments. This will involve investment projects being screened for issues such as human rights and labour standards, protection of the environment and anti-corruption measures. Talanx already has a track record of increasing the volume of investment in infrastructure projects. As of the 2015 year-end, EUR 1.13 billion were invested in such projects. The majority of infrastructure investments have recently been in wind farms, one example being Gode Wind 1. The goal is to increase this amount to approximately EUR 2 billion by 2017. In the long term, an investment volume of up to EUR 5 billion is conceivable in broadly diversified alternative investments.

Enhanced reduction of energy consumption and emissions
Aside from the increased investment in energies of the future, Talanx’s sustainability management is also focusing on goals such as a successive migration to renewable energies, cutting down the amount of energy used and reducing emissions. One main administrative building in Hannover completed in 2011 has energy-efficient operating systems such as a geothermal system, construction elements that comply with the standards for passive houses, regenerative ventilation and district-heating capabilities. The Talanx Group exclusively uses district heating at the major buildings in Germany to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This aim is also being assisted by reducing the consumption of paper, and efforts are being made to cut back the amount of travel by employees, for example through the installation of videoconferencing facilities. The increased provision of BahnCard railcards is intended to promote environmentally friendly travel.

Talanx is developing a Code of Conduct for suppliers by 2017 with the aim of systematically taking account of environmental criteria, human rights, and socially acceptable conditions in the selection of suppliers. The code will then be successively implemented.

In future, the company will also have an increasing responsibility to integrate older employees. One of the developments at the product level relates to retirement provision which also includes social and environmental aspects.

The Sustainability Report initially covers business activities at the home location in Germany and the WARTA Group in Poland. The latter is the biggest foreign operation of the Talanx Group. However, plans have been laid to gradually extend the scope of the report to other strategic target markets. Talanx subsidiary Hannover Re publishes its own sustainability report.