Zurich Resilience Solutions (ZRS), the business risk advisory and services unit of Zurich Insurance Group, has partnered with climate service provider and carbon project developer South Pole to launch a new climate change-related offering for Business.
According to Zurich, the joint offering will initially be available in the US, Germany and Switzerland. It will help companies address both sides of the climate challenge at the same time, helping them define and execute on their short- and long-term climate resilience goals, as well as their net zero emissions targets. It will focus on measuring physical climate risk and emissions, helping establish a strategy to reduce each, and overseeing the implementation of actions that meet local sustainability reporting and regulatory requirements.
“Defining and implementing effective climate mitigation and adaptation strategies requires special expertise and can be extremely complex and time-consuming, even more so for multinationals,” said Hanno Mijer, global head of Zurich Resilience Solutions. “The demand for climate resilience services has grown exponentially in recent years. Collaborating with South Pole will allow us to address climate-related risks holistically by supporting clients on their net-zero journey and building resilience.”
Zurich said that companies must intensify their efforts to collectively reduce emissions to achieve a successful transition to net zero and mitigate environmental impacts. At the same time, companies must prepare and adapt to the consequences of global warming and consider the current and future impacts of climate change on their businesses. According to the Climate Disclosure Project, the financial benefits of climate action are at least 15 times higher than the cost of the risks.
Businesses also increasingly understand that taking climate action is not only critical to managing their operational risks, but more stakeholders expect companies to transparently demonstrate how they are actively reducing their environmental impact and increasing resilience throughout their lives. value chain and, most importantly, to regularly report on the effectiveness of these measures.
“Companies that fail to demonstrate their progress in building resilience and reducing emissions will likely pay the price both in terms of reputation and finance,” said Renat Heuberger, South Pole CEO. “But knowing where to start can be difficult. We are pleased to combine best-in-class climate advice from the South Pole with resilience expertise from Zurich Resilience Solutions to guide corporate leaders towards effective mitigation and adaptation efforts, for both business success and climate protection.”
