Press Releases

WWF and RSA announce partnership

16.11.2009

WWF, the world’s leading environmental organisation and leading international insurer RSA Insurance Group (RSA) have today announced an international partnership. The three year agreement will focus on researching insurance risks of environmental change. RSA will also support major conservation projects around the world, while working with the WWF to become a more sustainable business.

Key elements of the partnership include:

• In December, during the World Climate Change talks in Copenhagen the need for a new global deal to reduce greenhouse gases will be discussed. RSA will be supporting the WWF’s major exhibition on risks to the Arctic region.
• In the UK, RSA will be supported by WWF in working with the Thames River Restoration Trust in East London to recreate the natural flood plain, demonstrating how simple measures can decrease flood risk. Additionally, with the WWF, RSA will continue its work with the government and construction industry, looking at how flood protection can be incorporated into property design and where and how new properties should be built.
• RSA is one of the world’s largest Marine insurers. Climate change is opening up new areas of the Arctic to resource extraction, commercial shipping and fishing. There are also challenges to the Baltic, Canadian and Scandinavian coastlines. RSA will be sponsoring research and mapping sensitive areas to help understand and mitigate these risks and to use resources in a more sustainable way.
• China is an emerging market but growth on the scale currently experienced brings environmental challenges. The Chinese government recognises this and has committed to stretching new renewable energy targets.  WWF and RSA will be working together to research renewable energy and emphasise the role insurance can play in supporting the transition to a low carbon economy.
• In the long-term, the partnership will be looking at developing and promoting products that provide incentives to customers for reducing their environmental footprint – for example, making their homes more energy and water efficient.
• With WWF’s support, RSA will be setting new CO2 targets, researching its supply chain impact, developing new green products and investigating how RSA’s investment strategies can support sustainability.

The world’s changing climate presents a new set of risks. WWF and RSA will work together to understand the risks in a changing world. The insurance industry is able to help customers understand the level of risk they face, underwrite that risk to give security and respond when the worst happens.

David Nussbaum, CEO at WWF UK, said: “We look forward to the partnership driving low carbon investments in the financial sector, low carbon behaviour among customers, and a greater ability among businesses and homeowners to protect themselves against the increasing impacts from climate change.”

Commenting on the partnership, Andy Haste, Group CEO at RSA said: “Behaving responsibly and ethically in the way we manage our business can have a positive impact on the environment, people and the communities in which we operate. The WWF is one of the world’s leading environmental organisations.  They work in nearly all of our markets and they’re one of the most recognised global brands.

“During the course of this partnership we’ll be helping and learning from each other to understand more about environmental risks, to protect our business and customers while minimising the impact on the environment.”

 For more information visit: www.wwfrsapartners.com

Notes to editors:

Media enquires:
WWF
Benjamin Ward, head of press and media relations WWF – UK
bward@wwf.org.uk
Tel +44 (0) 7837 134 193

RSA
Jon Sellors, head of external communications
Jon.sellors@uk.rsagroup.com
Tel +44 (0) 207 111 7047

About WWF

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations, with almost 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries.  WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

About RSA

With an almost 300 year heritage, RSA is one of the world’s leading multinational quoted insurance groups. It has the capability to write business in over 130 countries and with major operations in the UK, Scandinavia, Canada, Ireland, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East and Latin America. Focusing on general insurance, it has around 21,000 employees and, in 2008, its net written premiums were £6.5bn.

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