Policies and guidelines

Our Sustainability Risk Framework is based on the overarching principles of respecting human rights and protecting the environment, encapsulated in two umbrella policies that are valid for all our transactions. In addition, specific guidelines apply these overarching principles to eight sectors or issues in which we perceive major sustainability risks: the defence industry; oil and gas (including oil sands, hydraulic fracturing and arctic drilling); mining; dams; animal testing; forestry, pulp & paper and oil palm; nuclear weapons proliferation; and, newly from 2018, thermal coal.

We regularly review all the policies and guidelines of our Sustainability Risk Framework to ensure they stay abreast of relevant new risk developments and stakeholder expectations. In 2018, we introduced a comprehensive thermal coal policy for our underwriting business (see Focus: Introduction of our thermal coal policy), complementing a similar policy we had adopted in our asset management in 2016.