Embargoed: 09.00 GMT 20 November 2014
Maurice Tulloch appointed as new Chair of ClimateWise
We are delighted to announce that Maurice Tulloch, Chairman, Aviva Global General Insurance and Chief Executive Officer, Aviva UK & Ireland General Insurance has become the new Chair of ClimateWise, the global insurance industry’s leadership group to reduce the risks of climate change.
He succeeds John Coomber who was Group CEO of Swiss Re from 2003 to 2005 and a member of the Group’s Board of Directors from 2006 to 2014.
Maurice takes on the role of Chair at a time when impending international policy decisions could have an impact on future insurance operations, from both a risk management and an investment perspective.
Climate change has potentially huge implications for the insurance industry. Not tackling it and failing to act sustainably could be, as Aviva Group CEO Mark Wilson has said, “the biggest market failure of all”. Acting unsustainably could mean that risks would become impossible to price or insure, the global economy would contract, business would be worth less and incomes would fall.
Aviva was a founding signatory to the ClimateWise principles in 2007 and has been represented on the Management Committee ever since.
Commenting on his appointment, Maurice said:
“Insurance companies have an incredibly important role to play when it comes to reducing the risks of climate change. Not only are we long-term investors with a responsibility to act sustainably, we are also there to protect our customers against the adverse impacts of climate change itself. This requires partnership and greater engagement between industry and government, particularly in terms of the frameworks established for incentivising a low-carbon future and improved resilience.”
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Notes to editors
About ClimateWise
- ClimateWise is a global insurance industry leadership group to drive action on climate change risk. It was launched by insurance industry Chief Executives in 2007 and its membership now covers Asia, Europe, North America and Southern Africa
- ClimateWise is hosted by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), which brings together business, government and academia to find solutions to critical sustainability challenges, deepening leaders’ insight and creating opportunities for collaborative action through business platforms such as ClimateWise.
About Aviva
- Aviva provides 31 million customers with insurance, savings and investment products.
- Aviva is one of the UK’s leading insurers and one of Europe’s leading providers of life and general insurance.
- An initiative facilitated by:
- Aviva is committed to serving its customers well in order to build a stronger, sustainable business,
- which makes a positive contribution to society, and for which its people are proud to work.
- Aviva is included in CDP’s ‘A’ List: The Global Climate Performance Leadership Index 2014.
- By the end of 2013 Aviva had reduced its operational carbon emissions by 24% from its baseline
- year of 2010.
- Through Aviva’s carbon offsetting work it has been able to improve 395,000 people’s lives in the
- last 3 years, at the same time as offsetting its operational carbon emissions.
Contact details
- James Leach, Aviva: +44 20 7662 0253, james.leach@aviva.com
- Heleana Greeves, Aviva: +44 20 7662 0405, heleana.greeves@aviva.com
