Momentum Metropolitan Holdings announced that it has become the first South African insurance company to be recognised as a supporter of the international Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). It joins 16 supporters in South Africa and more than 1,000 supporters globally in taking action to build a more resilient financial system through climate-related disclosure.

“As part of our overall commitment to good sustainability principles, we strive to be financially sound, socially responsible as well as environmentally friendly, with good corporate governance as the overarching principle,” says Charlene Lackay, Head of Sustainability at MMH.

“By becoming an active member of this task force, we are not only demonstrating our commitment to supporting the TCFD objectives, but also re-affirming our efforts in creating a sustainable business that makes a positive difference in people’s lives, the communities that we serve and minimising our impact on the planet,” says Lackay.

“We have seen increasing support for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing in South Africa given the supportive regulatory environment and we believe that the issue of the impact of climate change is firmly on the boardroom table.”

The TCFD is highly influential in setting the highest standards of best practice, based on accurate data and contextualisation within the financial services sector. The TCFD recommendations are structured around four thematic areas that represent core elements of how organisations operate: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. These thematic areas are designed to interlink and inform one another.

Climate-risk mitigation and management efforts

While MMH will be adopting the TCFD recommendations, it has already been actively looking into climate-related disclosure and is already supporting existing disclosure frameworks such as the CDP Climate Change Questionnaire and International Integrated Reporting Framework.

Moreover, the Group endorses the Code for Responsible Investment in South Africa (CRISA), has been a signatory to the United Nations Principle for Responsible Investments (UNPRI) since 2006, and a member of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN). Through its Climate Change Position Statement implemented in 2019, MMH also acknowledges the global initiatives of COP24 and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

As a result, MMH has committed to:

• Voluntarily mitigate carbon emissions from its operations and simultaneously disclose its climate-related risks.
• Manage it environmental footprint, by reducing energy and water consumption, managing waste in line with the waste management hierarchy as well as considering the use of renewable energy in both owned and occupied properties.
• Comply with future and existing climate-related legislation.
• Continue research and investment into understanding the risks and opportunities related to climate change.
• Consider climate change risks and opportunities with regards to products and investments.
• Invest in clean energy efficiency projects that contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy and maintain investment portfolios that have factored in ESG matters.

“Recent events have made us all much more aware of the vulnerability of people and the planet and these have highlighted the plight of those living in poverty or affected by ever increasing climate catastrophes,” says Lackay.

“We will continue to align our future contributions and investment strategies so that we can effectively transition to a low carbon economy and a long-term positive impact on our environment and society.”