Sustainability

The global leading institutional investors have committed, through the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, to transition their portfolios to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 in order to meet the Paris Agreement goals against climate change.

Wanting to keep ahead, VidaCaixa has joined this initiative, as further proof of its global commitment to sustainability and promoting a low-carbon economy. This is how VidaCaixa is taking a step forward to set, for the first time, interim goals, committing to reduce, by 2030, GHG emissions from corporate investments (scopes 1 and 2) by at least 50% per million euros invested in its insurance activities, compared to 2019 levels.

In order to achieve these goals and as the cornerstone of the alliance, VidaCaixa works to engage with 20 carbon-intensive companies or those that make up 65% of the emissions in the portfolio, to encourage them to strengthen their commitment to the climate change and conduct relevant reports for decarbonisation. Also, we will keep an active role in funding the energy transition through solutions with a positive impact on climate, such as green bonds.

This decarbonisation commitment is part of the strategic point to “boost sustainability through SRI” in VidaCaixa’s 2022- - 2024 Sustainability Master Plan as detailed in our 2022 Sustainability Report. The other points in the plan entail promoting a culture of responsibility and leading the social impact of the insurance business.

VidaCaixa is committed to the Principles for Sustainability in Insurance (PSI) created by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI):

• Principle 1: To embed environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into the insurance activity, i.e. in the strategy, investment, risks, product development and marketing.

• Principle 2: To work together with our customers and business partners to raise awareness of the importance of these issues, manage risk and develop solutions.

• Principle 3: To work together with governments, regulators and other key stakeholders to promote widespread action across society on environmental, social and governance issues.

• Principle 4: To regularly, publicly and transparently disclose our progress in implementing the Principles with transparency.

VidaCaixa supports and defends the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact on human rights, work, the environment and the fight against corruption. Through this partnership, the company is committed to integrating them into its strategy, culture and daily operations, as well as participating in projects that promote the Sustainable Development Goals.

We support responsibility and transparency, and for this reason VidaCaixa discloses its progress with this initiative every year in the Group’s Consolidated Management Report, the Socio-Economic Impact Report, and now also in its Sustainability and Socially Responsible Investment Report.

Since 2009, VidaCaixa has been part of the Business Alliance for Child Vaccination, GAVI Alliance, promoted by Obra Social "la Caixa” and whose mission is to promote access to vaccinations for children living in low-income countries and improve the health systems of those countries.

This initiative is the result of all the public and private work and commitments established in 2000 between the main parties involved in the field of immunisation, governments, the pharmaceutical industry, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, non-governmental organisations and civil society, in their efforts to help reduce child mortality by two thirds, following the guidelines established by the Fourth United Nations Millennium Development Goal.

Pursuing this initiative, the CaixaBank Group began to collaborate with GAVI Alliance back in 2005 and has been its only private partner in Spain and Europe since 2008. Working with the Business Alliance for Child Vaccination, the entity promotes this charity initiative, ensuring that all companies wishing to join it can do so.

The Family Responsible Company (FRC) Model is a certification system promoted by Fundación +Familia (+Family Foundation), which seeks to implement a management model in organisations that will guarantee the adoption of policies and measures aimed at achieving a balance between personal and work life, as well as other aspects such as professional development, job quality, equal opportunities, and diversity management.

VidaCaixa has held this certification since 2009, which is an official recognition of the implementation of a management model that, through a process of continuous improvement over the medium to long-term, promotes the balance between company, work and family life through a series of specific measures.

The “FRC” certification at VidaCaixa is understood as a tool that promotes co-responsibility, achieving a mutual commitment with the business aimed at guaranteeing job stability and quality. All of this is based on a firm commitment to the professional development and growth of its employees.

VidaCaixa became the first life insurance company and state pension fund manager to become a signatory of the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment and integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into the management of our investments. Today, all of VidaCaixa’s portfolios are analysed under these standards.

The Principles of Responsible Investment consist of:

• Incorporating ESG criteria into the investment analysis and decision-making processes.
• Being owners of active assets and incorporating ESG criteria into our practices and policies.
• Asking the entities in which we invest to publish the appropriate information on ESG issues.
• Promoting the acceptance and application of the principles in the global investment community.
• Collaborating to improve our efficiency in applying the principles.
• Reporting on our activities and progress in implementing the principles.

Our plan focuses not only on the management of investments following ESG principles, but also on rolling out VidaCaixa’s commitment to sustainability across the board.