Leading the way in environmental stewardship in Bermuda
Bermuda is a unique place in many ways—but its environment is especially distinctive. Perhaps that is why so many Bermudian reinsurers choose to back initiatives designed to help protect it.
In the world of global reinsurance, where risk management meets financial innovation, Bermuda stands out as a hub of strategic importance.
As reinsurers navigate the intricate web of challenges and opportunities, a compelling case emerges for them to take a leading role in supporting community issues, especially those related to the environment. Beyond the bottom line, a commitment to environmental stewardship not only aligns with global sustainability goals but also solidifies reinsurers’ positions as responsible corporate citizens.
Bermuda’s reinsurers, with their global footprint and influence, wield significant power to drive positive change. One of the primary reasons for reinsurers to actively engage in supporting environmental causes is the intrinsic link between a healthy planet and long-term business sustainability. Climate change poses unprecedented risks to the re/insurance industry, impacting everything from underwriting practices to claims management. The re/insurance sector’s experience between 2017 and 2022, when it was buffeted by climate-driven catastrophe claims shows how important climate change is to the future of the industry.
By investing in environmental initiatives, reinsurers can contribute to mitigating climate-related risks, ensuring a more resilient future for their businesses and the communities they serve.
Bermuda, with its unique geographical position in the Atlantic, is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and changing ocean currents all underscore the urgency for collective action. Reinsurers, deeply embedded in the fabric of the Island’s financial landscape, have a vested interest in safeguarding Bermuda’s environment. Supporting community issues related to the environment is a strategic move that protects their interests and also fosters a sense of shared responsibility with the local population.
Reinsurers on the Island have a golden opportunity to showcase their commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability, setting an example for the broader business community. Beyond mere compliance with regulatory standards, active participation in community initiatives allows reinsurers to demonstrate ethical leadership.
In an era where stakeholders, including investors, employees, and customers, are increasingly scrutinising corporate behaviour, aligning business goals with environmental stewardship enhances the industry’s reputation and trustworthiness.
“By investing in environmental initiatives, reinsurers can contribute to mitigating climate-related risks.”
The positive impact of reinsurers’ involvement in environmental causes extends far beyond the boardroom. By supporting initiatives such as renewable energy projects, conservation programmes, and climate resilience efforts, reinsurers contribute directly to the wellbeing of local communities. This not only strengthens community ties but establishes reinsurers as valuable partners in the pursuit of shared goals. Collaborating with local organisations and authorities amplifies the impact of their contributions, creating a ripple effect of positive change that extends beyond the corporate realm.
All this means that the imperative for Bermuda’s reinsurers to support community issues related to the environment is not merely a philanthropic endeavour— it is a strategic imperative. By embracing environmental stewardship, reinsurers safeguard their long-term business interests, foster community resilience, and set a high standard for corporate responsibility.
In an era when businesses are increasingly judged by their commitment to sustainability, Bermuda’s reinsurers have a golden opportunity to lead the charge, ensuring a prosperous and resilient future for their industry and the Island they call home.
Three such initiatives are described below.
The Conduit Foundation
The Conduit Foundation, established in 2021, was devised as a means of the reinsurer recognising the important part that companies—such as Conduit Re—play in Bermuda’s society. It was formed to support charitable events, match the donations of staff to certain causes, and make education awards.
In 2022, it made donations to more than a dozen charities, totalling almost $300,000.
More recently, its attention has turned to reducing any negative impact from the company by becoming a Beyond Plastic Bermuda Champion and removing single-use plastic from common usage in its office.
Conduit Re says the Beyond Plastic programme is important for multiple reasons. First, the direct reduction in plastic will reduce waste and plastic pollution. Reduced manufacture of plastics lowers green-house gas emissions and protects against the health risks of plastics entering the bodies of people and animals. Second, it emphasises to its staff, many of whom have joined since it made conscious decisions around the avoidance of plastic water bottles and single-use coffee apparatus, that avoiding single-use plastic is part of being a responsible company.
Beyond signing up, it runs an educational session for employees and their families. It also promotes recycling and composting with office collection points.
To find out more, visit conduitreinsurance.com/esg/social/the-conduit-foundation
The BZS Micro Forest Project
The Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS) is the driver of the Micro Forest Project, Bermuda’s Official micro forest initiative, which aims to plant 1,500 native-compatible and endemic plants each year for three years. It was formed in December 2021 with RenaissanceRe as its founding partner.
The first planting took place on the inaugural plot in Jennings Land, on North Shore. It represented the first local project of its size helping to boost native and endemic biodiversity while also helping mitigate climate change by capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.
Since then, it has grown to more than 10 new BZS Micro Forest sites, 1,500 more seedlings planted. At the end of 2022, after one full year of the project, RenRe took part in a planting at Admiralty House—a 717 square metre plot, the largest area the project has undertaken to date. They planted 305 plants, made up of 16 different native species.
Jeff Manson, senior vice president, underwriting and head of global public sector partnership, RenaissanceRe, said at the time: “As part of our longstanding commitment to promoting climate resilience, we are proud to be the founding corporate sponsor of the BZS’s Micro Forest Project. We look forward to working with the Micro Forest Project to protect endemic plant life in Bermuda, raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity in combating climate change, and cultivate community collaboration to create further impact.”
Since its launch in 2021, a number of other organisations have become involved and now support the initiative, including Aeolus, Convex, Vantage Risk, Aspen Bermuda, the Bermuda Parks Department and many volunteers.
The goal of the BZS Micro Forest Project is to plant 1,500 native-compatible and endemic plants each year for three years. Thus far, the project has 10 established plots—including Jenning’s Land—North Shore Road; Warwick Playground Park; Flatts Village Pier; Coastal Mangrove—Trunk Island; Trunk Island—BZS Living Classroom; Dalton E. Tucker Primary School; BAMZ Coastal Walkway; Spittal Pond; Riddell’s Bay; and Admiralty House.
To find out more, visit bamz.org/support/bzs-micro-forest-project
“The goal of the BZS Micro Forest Project is to plant 1,500 native-compatible and endemic plants each year for three years.”
Convex Seascape Survey
In November 2021, Convex Group launched a multi-million dollar partnership with the Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE), a charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health, and the University of Exeter, with the launch of the Convex Seascape Survey.
Bringing together a multidisciplinary team of world-class ocean scientists, this ambitious five-year global research programme is the largest attempt yet to build a greater understanding of the properties and capabilities of the ocean and its continental shelves in the earth’s carbon cycle, in the urgent effort to slow climate change.
The ocean could be our staunchest ally in our fight against climate change, but its impact remains an unsolved and fundamental question. In a time of global emergency, the seascape could provide much-needed answers as well as nature-based solutions to the current climate crisis. The survey will provide timely, accurate, and open access data on the world’s seabed carbon stores.
This research is essential; studies have shown that ocean-based mitigation could provide up to a fifth of the solution needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and narrow the emissions gap. Yet the ocean seabed remains largely unprotected and seascape carbon is presently not accounted for in the inventories of carbon emissions compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change.
Stephen Catlin, chairman and CEO of Convex said: “Anticipating and mitigating future risks is at the heart of what we do at Convex. Our ability to make informed decisions rests upon our access to and analysis of robust data—the same is true when combating climate change.
“Significant results will take global effort. This survey will encompass the expertise of scientists spanning continents and will build upon the research gathered from the Catlin Arctic Survey and the Catlin Seaview Survey. This is a huge opportunity to support cutting-edge and impactful research.”
To find out more, visit convexseascapesurvey.com
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