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Sampo Group has a sustainability programme, which drives group-level sustainability work. The programme consists of strategic sustainability themes and the most material sustainability topics that have been identified for each theme. The programme also links the sustainability work to the business operations of the Group companies by highlighting business rationale and common areas of interest, as well as the impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The sustainability programme is intended as a common tool and guideline for the Group companies’ sustainability organisations. The sustainability programme evolves, as common projects are completed and targets reached, or new priorities emerge.

During 2021, representatives from all Sampo Group companies reviewed the sustainability programme. As a result of the review, a fifth theme called Products and services was added to better highlight the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria in underwriting, responsible product and service offering, and sustainability in supply chains, for example.

Regulatory requirements regarding current and future sustainability reporting, industry best practices, relevant reporting frameworks (e.g., the GRI Standards, the TCFD), and the views of various ESG rating agencies were also considered during the review process.

All themes and topics of Sampo Group’s current sustainability programme are presented in the infographic Strategic sustainability themes and objectives. A more detailed version of the programme is available internally. In addition to the elements shown in the infographic, the internal version includes detailed activities under each theme, targets for the activities, an overall timetable, and a division of responsibilities between Sampo plc and the Group companies.

Strategic sustainability themes and objectives, Sampo Group

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.

- We want the progress we are going to make at If to have the greatest possible impact in terms of limiting the global temperature rise. We have analyzed potential and challenges carefully, and we find that the most ambitious way to ensure this is by combining our own climate targets with the latest climate research, says CEO Morten Thorsrud.

Together with an expected primary effect in investments, If expects that their coming climate targets will have an effect on the company’s approximately 3,000 partners in the automotive and car-workshop industry and almost 1,000 suppliers in the recover and reconstruction businesses.

If will soon begin to define concrete targets. The targets will then be submitted to the SBTi organisation for validation. The targets must cover a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 15 years from the date of submission. Progress towards the goals will be reported transparently and publicly every year.

SBTi is a partnership between the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI), the CDP and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The SBTi’s goal is to drive ambitious climate action in the private sector by enabling companies to set science-based emissions reduction targets.

The real estate portfolio of Mandatum Asset Management (MAM) significantly improved its score in the 2021 GRESB Real Estate Assessment, earning the Green Star designation and Regional Sector Leader recognition for its sustainability efforts. Real estate investors use the international assessment to further develop their ESG performance.

This was the second time that Mandatum participated in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Real Estate Assessment. This year, MAM’s score for its direct real estate investments was 84 points out of 100, and MAM placed first among 14 peers in the benchmark. The average peer score was 67 points.

The Regional Sector Leader recognition is granted to organisations that are among the best performers across ESG for a specific real estate sector within their region, and Mandatum received this recognition for the first time this year. Additionally, Mandatum received the Green Star designation, which is granted to real estate investors that receive high scores in both management and performance.

“The excellent score was partly the result of our successful measures to reduce our properties’ energy and water consumption, along with mitigating emissions. One concrete way that we improved our figures was based on the transition to green electricity in our properties,” says Lilli Konttinen, Portfolio Manager at MAM.

GRESB assesses the sustainability of properties in the entire portfolio. The assessment includes an analysis of energy and water consumption, waste volumes, greenhouse gas emissions, risk management, stakeholder engagement as well as ESG reporting, principles and management.

MAM is constantly working towards reducing the climate risks of its investment activities. In the spring of 2021, a climate risk assessment was implemented for MAM’s real estate investments, including a systematic review of current and potential approaches to mitigate risks caused by climate change.

“We have worked harder than ever to achieve sustainable operations. We also received good points for stakeholder engagement, particularly with our tenants. Our tenants are key partners in our sustainability efforts, as emissions are directly related to their use of our properties. As a result, we have prepared a sustainability guide and our lease agreements include a green lease document, which provides guidelines and recommendations for environmental and corporate responsibility,” says Konttinen.

The number of participants in the GRESB assessment has grown each year with a total of 1,520 companies and funds from 66 countries participating in the 2021 Real Estate Assessment.

MAM manages over € 1 billion in real estate assets, including open and closed strategies across Finland and European real estate investments through externally managed funds. Investors in these strategies include both Sampo Group's insurance companies and MAM's clients. The investments are managed by MAM’s team of 20 real estate professionals.

Mandatum Asset Management (MAM) engages in fund business and provides Sampo Group with discretionary and consultative wealth management and asset management services as an asset management company. Mandatum Asset Management manages EUR 24 billion in assets and employs around 120 investment professionals. Mandatum Asset Management belongs to Sampo Group and is a sister company of Mandatum Life Insurance Company Limited.

The main sustainability indicators across operations have been gathered in an interactive sustainability tool on Sampo Group’s website. The tool provides a comprehensive overview of the Group’s performance on these indicators.

Sustainability Key Figures tool

The indicators have been divided into six sections: Employees, Remuneration, Health & Well-Being, Society, Customer Satisfaction, and Climate Change. The data is illustrated in graphs and tables and on both subsidiary and group level and can be exported for further analysis.

In the future, the tool will continue to evolve as data availability improves and new group-level indicators are introduced.

Employees

Sampo Group has developed reporting on group-level HR data during the past years and added new indicators to provide a more comprehensive overview of the Group’s employees. Currently the Group reports, for example, the number of full-time employees (FTE), the years of employment, the gender distribution, the number of full-time and part-time employees, the number of employees on temporary contracts, the number of new hires by age group and gender, and the number of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Remuneration

Regarding remuneration, Sampo Group reports, for example, fixed and variable compensation key figures, average employee remuneration versus Group CEO pay, and remuneration by gender. Sampo Group is committed to gender pay equality, so monitoring related indicators is important to the Group companies.

Health and Well-Being

Absence due to illness and employee turnover are important indicators of the employees’ well-being and the working environment. Skilled and motivated employees are an asset, and the Group companies invest in creating an inspiring working environment and a strong corporate culture that support employee performance and well-being.

Society

Both corporate income tax and total payable and collected taxes are reported in the Society section. The Sampo Group companies are significant and responsible taxpayers, and tax compliance is viewed as an important part of the Group companies’ business and sustainability.

Customer Satisfaction

Systematic measurement of customer satisfaction is used to gauge the customer experience and identify factors that should be improved. The Group companies use the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Transactional Net Promoter Score (tNPS) to measure customer satisfaction. The NPS is an index ranging from -100 to 100 that measures the willingness of customers to recommend a company’s products or services to others and the customer’s loyalty to the brand. The tNPS assesses the customer’s opinion on a certain business transaction.

Climate Change

Sampo Group reports the Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions of its own operations as well the carbon footprint of direct equity and fixed income investments. Each Group company has its own environmental principles and targets related, for example, to reducing energy consumption, increasing recycling, and working with suppliers and other stakeholders to contribute to the sustainable development of society.

For more information about the indicators, please see Sampo Group’s Corporate Responsibility report.

The tool is provided by Euroland.

If, Sampo plc’s largest subsidiary, has included sustainability principles in its corporate customer selection and risk assessment from 1 June 2021.

The new underwriting standards are based on the UN Global Compact, an international initiative focusing on 10 principles for sustainable business operations. The principles cover the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.

Integrating the UN Global Compact principles in insurance underwriting is one of the measures If is taking to increase sustainability in its business practices. Sustainability requirements have previously been applied to suppliers through the Supplier Code of Conduct and to If’s investment activities through norms-based research. Now If also expects its corporate clients to comply with the same principles.

Implementation of the New Standards

If has prepared for the implementation of the new standards by establishing assessment teams specialized in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and educating employees on the principles of the UN Global Compact, norms-based research, and the new ESG framework.

At If, the principles of the Global Compact have been directly integrated into the underwriting standards and into the existing Customer Due Diligence process for corporate clients. In practice this means that new and existing customers undergo ESG screening based on an internal model. If uses research from an external partner specialized in monitoring ESG compliance to assess how corporate clients respect the UN Global Compact in their operations. The internal ESG assessment teams make decisions about client relationships based on the external partner’s research, as well as other relevant material.

If a corporate client is found to be in breach of the Global Compact principles, If will notify the company and ask them to improve their operations. However, if the company is not willing or able to change its practices, the client relationship can be terminated.

To date, a small number of corporate clients have been notified that their ESG grading is not satisfactory. So far, no client relationships have been terminated due to breaches against the UN Global Compact principles.

More information on sustainability in underwritingMore information about If’s sustainability work in If’s Sustainability Report 2020 (PDF)