Increasingly frequent and intense natural disasters caused by climate change are a risk shared by the entire planet, and non-life insurance companies, which are deeply involved in responding to such disasters, are concerned about a deterioration of the global insurance system due to an increase in claim payouts. The MS&AD Insurance Group endorses the Paris Agreement, aimed at resolving climate change issues and is ratified by countries around the world, and in December 2015 the Group signed on to the Paris Pledge for Action to declare its commitment toward this aim.
Our lifestyles as well as economic activities dependent on natural resources, such as water and lumber, as well as on the resources provided by plant, animal and other ecosystems that will be considerably impacted by the degeneration of ecosystems and the depletion of natural resources. In July 2016, the Group signed the Natural Capital Declaration in support of its assertion that financial institutions should incorporate the idea of “natural capital” into their financial products and services going forward in the 21st century. We have been helping to improve the resilience of customers and the society by providing risk management and insurance products that guard against the risks of climate change and natural capital degradation, and engaging in efforts to reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions.
Additionally, we signed the UN Global Compact and voiced our support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in June 2004, and ever since have adopted approaches in line with the ILO Core Labor Standards and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. In February 2017, we established the MS&AD Insurance Group Basic Policy on Human Rights to better fulfill the obligation that companies have to respect human rights. We recognize that we are liable for the observable and potential adverse impacts of our business activities, including those throughout our value chains, and we have been undertaking activities and engaged in dialogues that manifest our respect for human rights.
The following three issues need to be resolved by realizing a resilient and sustainable society and, given their major impact on our Group and society as a whole, they have been designated as priority issues for our Group.