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Sampo Group has conducted two portfolio impact assessments using Upright’s methodologies. The aim of the assessments was to measure the impact of Sampo Group’s investments on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and examine the net impact profile of the investment portfolio. The assessments included Sampo plc, If, Topdanmark, Hastings, and Mandatum’s investments as at 31 December 2021.

Portfolio alignment with the UN SDGs

Uprightʼs UN SDG contribution data is based on the alignment of a company’s products and services with the 17 UN SDGs. In assessing the SDG contribution for a single company, each of the company’s products and services are evaluated against the 169 targets (subgoals) under the 17 SDGs, focusing on those applicable to companies.

The methodology captures both positive and negative impacts for each SDG. Sampo Group’s analysis includes four levels of alignment with the SDGs: strong alignment, alignment, misalignment, and strong misalignment. Strongly aligned products have a clear direct impact on the SDG, whereas aligned products have a lesser direct or indirect impact on the SDG.

According to the assessment, the investments support especially SDGs 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), 8 (decent work and economic growth), and 11 (sustainable cities and communities).

Portfolio impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Sampo Group, 31 December 2021

Net impact profile of Sampo Group’s investments

The net impact of a company is the net sum of costs and benefits that the company creates. The Upright net impact model measures positive and negative net impacts in four dimensions: environment, health, society, and knowledge. The model collects information on the impacts of all products and services from scientific literature and public statistical databases.

According to the assessment, the net impact profile of Sampo Group’s investments is positive. The investee companies contribute to society through job creation, taxes, and societal infrastructure. On the negative side, they use scarce human capital in the form of highly skilled employees, generate emissions, and produce waste.

Net impact profile of investments, Sampo Group, 31 December 2021

Topdanmark has joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an international alliance supported by the UN, which helps companies ensure that their climate goals live up to the Paris Climate Agreement. The commitment means that Topdanmark will set ambitious science-based climate targets which are aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

As an insurance company, Topdanmark has seen how climate change and extreme weather events affects its customers. Topdanmark believes that it can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in society and will focus its efforts on five areas in particular:

• offering tailored and attractive products that motivate customers to opt for climate-friendly solutions
• exploring GHG saving technologies and measures in claims handling
• investing in loss prevention
• setting ambitious climate targets for investments and underwriting, including exclusions of carbon intense sectors and engagement with customers and investee companies to promote the green transformation
• optimising daily operations to reduce GHG emissions

Topdanmark must now define its new targets within two years and send them to SBTi for validation, as well as report on progress towards the goals.

More information on Topdanmark’s commitment can be found here (in Danish).

Sampo Group has published its Sustainability Report for 2021 on Sampo’s Annual Reporting site at www.sampo.com/year2021. The report gives an overview of a wide array of topics regarding how Sampo Group companies ensure sustainable business operations, integrate sustainability into investment management and insurance operations, support their employees, and engage in communities. The subsidiaries’ sustainability reports are also available on the Annual Reporting site.

- One of the most important sustainability-related developments in 2021 within Sampo Group was If P&C’s decision to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and set ambitious climate targets aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement. In addition, Sampo’s UK P&C insurance business, Hastings, decided to work towards being a net-zero company by 2050, says Torbjörn Magnusson, Group CEO and President.

- Sampo Group received rating upgrades from several leading ESG rating agencies during the year, representing strong proof that our work in building an increasingly sustainable business is progressing well. It also shows that we have placed emphasis on developing what is most material for us as a P&C insurance group, and for our stakeholders, Magnusson continues.

Sampo Group is committed to further strengthening its sustainability efforts in close cooperation with its stakeholders. Sampo works continuously on integrating sustainability principles, such as those of the UN Global Compact, into the Group’s policies and business practices and wants to encourage its investee companies and other business partners to do the same.

The Sampo Group companies are conscious of their impact on the environment and are committed to tackling the challenges of climate change by assessing and improving their operations and setting targets to reduce emissions.

GHG emissions

Sampo Group measures the environmental impact of its own operations by calculating GHG emissions. The emissions are reported in accordance with the Green House Gas Protocol. Scope 1 includes direct emissions from operations that are owned or controlled by the reporting company such as onsite energy use and fuel in company-owned or leased vehicles. Scope 2 includes indirect GHG emissions from the generation of purchased or acquired electricity, heating, or cooling consumed by the reporting company, and Scope 3 includes indirect emissions that occur in the company’s value chain.

In 2021, Sampo Group’s total GHG emissions from own operations were 10,641.3 tonnes, which equals 0.89 tonnes per employee. Scope 1 emissions were 17.6 per cent, scope 2 emissions were 23.1 per cent, and scope 3 emissions were 59.3 per cent of the total. Most of the emissions originate from business travel, IT and cloud services, and electricity, with the shares being 25.8 per cent, 20.8 per cent, and 18.8 per cent, respectively. The carbon footprint of investments is calculated separately. More information on the carbon footprint and climate impact of investments can be found here.

Source of GHG emissions, Sampo Group 2021

In 2021, the increase in Scope 1 emissions was due to the inclusion of Hastings in Sampo Group’s GHG calculations for the first time. In addition, the increase was driven by Topdanmark’s increased consumption of natural gas due to changes in ventilation to decrease the spread of the coronavirus in the company’s headquarters. The reduction of Scope 2 emissions was a result of lower electricity consumption and heating and cooling at If, Topdanmark, and Mandatum compared to 2020. During 2021, air travel continued to decrease, which was the main reason for the lower Scope 3 emissions compared to the previous year. The decrease is still attributed to the pandemic, but new practices using digital platforms for meetings may influence travel patterns in the future.

In the future, the Group companies aim to improve disclosure on Scope 3 emissions. In 2021, employee commuting was included for the parent company, Sampo plc, for the first time. In 2022, the aim is to expand reporting on employee commuting to include all Group companies.

Emission reduction targets

Emissions reduction targets are set on subsidiary level, in order to acknowledge the characteristics of each individual company and its ability to set targets. Hastings, for example, is a CarbonNeutral® company and Topdanmark has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2030. If has signed the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and committed to set science-based targets in accordance with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The work to identify and set targets has already begun at If.

Further information

Mandatum has earned the Future Workplaces certificate, based on Siqni’s employee survey, for its proven highly rated employee experience. The Siqni index consists of the workplace’s net promoter score (eNPS) and the Flame Index. The survey determines what a company’s employees consider to be the most meaningful factors at work.

Excellent employee satisfaction has been a hallmark of Mandatum for more than a decade now. In the past two years, the company was ranked as the number one place to work in Finland in the large organisations category of the Great Place to Work Institute’s survey, and it has also ranked among the best large organisations in all of Europe (10th in 2020 and 17th in 2021).

The goal of carrying out this Siqni employee survey, the first for Mandatum, is to take Mandatum’s employee experience to the next, more employee-centered phase. Personnel’s well-being is one of Mandatum Group’s strategic goals. The company recognises that taking responsibility for its employees ensures successful business.

Further information (www.mandatumlife.fi)