Aspen vows to make ESG integration ‘top-down strategic priority’

Bermuda-based  Aspen Insurance Holdings has launched a new ESG initiative for credit and political risk, in line with the group’s shift to make environmental, social and governance integration a “top-down strategic priority”.

The initiative, called ‘Project Leaf’, is designed to incorporate ESG information into the decision making process for its credit and political risk portfolio.

By 2026, the project aims to see over two thirds (66%) of Aspen’s CPR premium originating from transactions with a favourable ESG classification.

A favourable classification is determined by exposure that has a positive ESG risk factor, for instance project finance for solar or wind assets, Aspen noted.

Project Leaf was formed in June 2020, led by Aspen’s head of credit and political risk Dan Osman (pictured), alongside a team of underwriters and credit analysts across London, Singapore and Bermuda. The team began with an investigation of ESG risk exposures across Aspen’s CPR portfolio, before engaging with clients to understand their own environmental, social and governance objectives.

To deliver on its target, Aspen’s CPR team plans to follow a developed framework for assessing and classifying underwriting transactions, allowing the team to report progress toward this goal. To support progress, the working group, led by Osman, will also be launching initiatives that include a school mentoring scheme, a series of charitable partnerships, and an internal programme to reduce the Group’s carbon footprint.

Osman said: “Project Leaf has set out to create a transparent roadmap for Aspen’s CPR portfolio that is closely aligned with the wider Group’s corporate objectives and ESG strategy. Several objectives are already locked in for delivery in the next five years and the team looks forward to reporting on its progress in line with the Group’s shift to make ESG integration a top-down strategic priority.”

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