AXA commits to responsible investing

AXA, a global insurance firm, said it is committed to ethical investment with the help of its global fund managers, Architas and AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM).

The company said on Wednesday that it will connect its investments with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles and incorporate these aspects into its investment decisions in order to effect good change in the firms it invests in over time.

“As responsible investors, AXA aims to reach 25 billion euros in green investments by 2023 and reduce its own carbon footprint of AXA’s general account by 20 percent by 2025,” it underscored.

AXA, as an insurer, said it is working on insurance solutions that are tailored to the needs of vulnerable people. It would also raise climate change awareness and ESG understanding among its employees and stakeholders through training and further education.

AXA Philippines, the global firm’s local unit, said responsible investing was emphasized during a recent seminar it co-hosted with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

Aidan Yao, senior emerging Asia economist at AXA IM, spoke during the webinar on how achieving the Paris Accord’s goal of carbon neutrality can be difficult without urgent action from countries with high carbon dioxide emissions

The good news, he continued, is that China — the world’s largest carbon emitter — promised last year that it will achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The first phase will be to flatten the emission curve between now and 2030.

“In China, green bonds helped to finance wide areas of industries that are consistent toward carbon neutrality, such as the renewables, the electric vehicles, batteries, green building and water conservation,” Yao said. Green bonds, according to him, fund new or existing initiatives that improve the environment and encourage net-zero emissions.

Yao said China’s expanding green bond market offers significant investment potential for corporations like AXA that adhere to ESG principles.