Newswise — Temple University’s Fox School of Business and other leading academic institutions have joined with global insurers in a survey sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative that sheds new light on the industry’s approach to sustainability and climate risks.
Coming just weeks before the pivotal UN climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, a report highlighting the first-ever such survey of the powerful insurance sector – which controls trillions of dollars in assets – says the industry has a fundamental role in transitioning to a clean, green, low-carbon global economy.
As the lead academic institution, the Fox School of Business spearheaded the creation of the pioneering global survey, which covered a wide spectrum of key environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors – including climate change, human rights and ethics. The survey was distributed through a “viral” marketing campaign, social networking and other means to 30,000 industry professionals and academics across the globe, generating nearly 2,700 pages of data from 60 territories worldwide.
The Fox School partnered with eight advisory institutions, including Columbia University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and Verona University.
“We are pleased and privileged to lead a team that includes some of the finest universities in the world,” Fox School Dean M. Moshe Porat said. “This collaboration is clear evidence that the Fox School of Business, through our Enterprise Management Consulting Practice, is a leader in creating real solutions to the challenges in sustainability.”
The Fox School’s EMC contributes to business, economic and social development by combining the expertise of business leaders and research and practice faculty with the creativity, effort and skills of MBA students to provide high-quality, research-driven support to start-ups, corporations and nonprofit organizations in the region and across the world. The EMC distinguishes the Fox School as one of a handful of business schools that are able to demonstrate the management and leadership skills of its graduates.
“Our many goals with EMC projects often come down to just two: a best-of-a-lifetime learning experience for our students, and professional-grade, world-class consulting deliverables for our clients,” said Assistant Professor James W. Hutchin, director of EMC’s Initiative for Sustainability Strategies. “The global launch of a report on sustainability in insurance underwriting, an undertaking which relied heavily on the exceptional work of five Fox MBAs from around the world, is another fine validation of the success of our unique educational model.”
The 100-plus-page report, based on the survey and backed by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), was released Thursday, Oct. 22, at a major UN gathering of financial service companies in Cape Town, South Africa. The report reveals that many insurance company executives believe that in order to sustain their industry’s long-term economic health, they must integrate key ESG factors into underwriting guidelines, product development and other core operations. The report also builds a case for the development of “Principles for Sustainable Insurance” to guide the industry.
“While other business schools may encourage their students to ‘go forth and change the world for the better,’ our EMC program provides them the opportunity, structure and instruction to do that now,” Hutchin said.
The UNEP FI report, “The Global State of Sustainable Insurance — Understanding and integrating environmental, social and governance factors in insurance,” is available at www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/global-state-of-sustainable-insurance.pdf.
The Fox School of BusinessEstablished in 1918, Temple University’s Fox School of Business has a distinguished tradition of preparing business leaders, professionals and entrepreneurs for successful careers. Today, it is the largest, most comprehensive business school in the greater Philadelphia region, and among the largest in the world, with nearly 6,500 students, 155 full-time faculty and more than 52,000 alumni.
Enterprise Management Consulting Practice (EMC)The Enterprise Management Consulting Practice (EMC) is an innovative, award-winning and hands-on learning experience involving faculty, MBA students and mentors from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, as well as partner universities from around the world. The EMC, recently featured in the Financial Times and CNN.com, includes capstone consulting practicum courses in which carefully selected and closely supervised student teams help firms explore new business opportunities. The student teams integrate course work, the business experience of mentors and informants, and primary and secondary research to create highly professional market entry strategies, product development plans, strategic renewal plans, and business plans.
UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)UNEP FI is a strategic public-private partnership between UNEP and the global financial sector. UNEP works with over 180 banks, insurers and investment firms, and a range of partner organizations, to understand the impacts of environmental, social and governance factors on financial performance and sustainable development. Through a comprehensive work program encompassing research, training, events and regional activities, UNEP FI carries out its mission to identify, promote and realize the adoption of best environmental and sustainability practice at all levels of financial institution operations.
RSS