Insurers Can Support Progress Toward Sustainable Development Goals

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a group of 17 global goals aimed at reducing poverty and protecting the planet for the future. The SDGs were born at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 and are linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by 193 countries.

While the SDGs describe some of the greatest challenges for governments across the world, achieving them will require collective action including governments, civil society, the private sector, and individuals and communities.

Insurers can tap into new opportunities as both risk underwriters and as investors to support the UN SDGs, a set of globally shared social and economic expectations, which are increasingly being used by both insurers and corporations across a wide range of sectors as a guiding compass for developing their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies.

However, insurance’s potential role in achieving SDGs and advancing ESG more broadly has been underestimated, particularly for broader climate and sustainability initiatives.