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Our approach to climate change

As an international insurer with insurance products covering a diverse portfolio including property, crop, energy, marine and aviation

As one of the world’s largest insurance and reinsurance companies, with operations in all major insurance markets, there are a range of climate-related risks and opportunities that may impact our business, customers and the communities in which we operate over the short, medium and long term. Our response to climate-related risks and opportunities is part of our sustainability strategy, including initiatives driven by our sustainability focus areas.

We continue to work toward our commitments of a net-zero underwriting portfolio by 2050, a net-zero investment portfolio by 2050 and net zero across our own operations by 2030, with a focus on engagement across our priority customers, investees, and suppliers. We also continue to develop our emissions measurement capability, taking data availability and reliability into account, as we make progress towards our commitments. In 2024, we commenced work to develop a climate transition plan, which will be published in 2026.

Our ability to meet our net-zero commitments is related to the actions we take in relation to our own operations, including the suppliers we partner with, our investments and underwriting portfolios. An orderly transition to a net-zero economy requires action by governments, regulators, communities, the finance sector, and other stakeholders, to enable economic stability as organisations move to more sustainable business models. QBE recognises that through working with others, we can help reduce the risks presented by climate change to our stakeholders and to QBE. We aim to influence and advocate for sustainable policies and positions through our industry memberships and participation in working groups, as we recognise that our most pressing sustainability challenges require action from multiple actors.

Our approach to responsible investing and underwriting is consistent with our signatory status to the United Nations Environment Programme – Finance Initiative’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance and Principles for Responsible Investment. We are also a supporter of the Insurance Council of Australia’s Climate Change Roadmap: Towards a Net-Zero and Resilient Future in our home market.

More information about our climate-related governance, strategy, risk management and progress can be found in the Climate-related risks and opportunities section of our Annual Report and in our Sustainability Report.

We continue to refine our approach to how we foster an orderly and inclusive transition, support our customers and communities and support the global transition to a net-zero economy through our underwriting strategy. Our net zero in underwriting strategy focuses on three important areas:

  1. Customer engagement and insights: understanding our priority customers’ net-zero ambitions and plans.
  2. Innovation products and services: exploring opportunities to further expand our offerings in support of the transition.
  3. Emissions modelling and tracking: understanding and tracking the emissions of our underwriting portfolio and how we can identify and address material data gaps.

Aligned with our broader climate strategy and our commitment to impact and responsible investment, in 2020, QBE joined an international group of institutional investors committed to transitioning their investment portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. We are working towards this through: 

  • Target setting and tracking 
  • Scaling investments in climate solutions; and  
  • Engaging with investees to encourage operational decarbonisation 

To deliver on our commitment to transition our investment portfolio to net-zero by 2050, in 2021, we established intermediate targets for 2025. Our progress over 2024 is outlined in the Climate-related risks and opportunities section of our Annual Report.  

QBE is committed to net-zero operations by 2030 across Scope 1, 2 and a defined inventory1,2 of Scope 3 emissions relevant to our operations.  

We continue to transition our fleet to low-emissions vehicles, where infrastructure is available to do so, and to optimise our office space, releasing surplus floorspace and improving resource efficiency, where possible.  

In 2024, 100% of our electricity use across QBE’s offices (excluding Bermuda and the Pacific Islands) was certified as renewable3, meeting our RE100 target for the fourth year, ahead of our 2025 commitment. In 2024, QBE purchased renewable energy and fire abatement carbon offset certificates to cover residual greenhouse gas emissions related to our global operations, as described in our Data Book4.  

Further information can be found in our Data Book and Focus Area 1 chapter of the 2024 Sustainability Report. 

1. The defined inventory of Scope 3 operational emissions relevant to our operations includes capitals goods, fuel-and energy-related activities and business travel.  2. Please refer to our Data Book (Focus Area 1 and Metrics Criteria) for all definitions, calculations, assumptions and methodologies. 
3. Based on the RE100 Climate Group’s materiality threshold guidance which excludes countries with small electricity loads (<100MWh/year and up to a total of 500MWh/year) and where it is not feasible to source renewable electricity via any credible sourcing options. We meet our RE100 commitment through a combination of contracts with electricity suppliers and purchasing unbundled energy attribute certificates.
4. The scope of QBE’s operational emissions includes Scope 1 and Scope 2 and some purchased goods and services, capital goods, fuel- and energy-related activities, waste generated in operations, business travel, employee commuting and downstream leased assets. Please refer to our Data Book for further information.  

In 2024, we progressed our commitment to engaging our strategic suppliers across our global supply chain. Strategic suppliers are selected based on QBE’s annual spend and importance to QBE’s operations. In 2024, we developed and deployed a survey to our global strategic suppliers, to support us in gaining insights on their climate risks and opportunities, progress in measuring and reducing emissions, and to further understand our Scope 3 emissions.

QBE seeks to influence through advocacy, either directly or through industry alliances. In 2024, QBE continued our active involvement in the ICA’s Climate & Resilience Committee and Net Zero Working Group, advocating for more government action on topics including improved land use planning, building codes and investment in community resilience to reduce risk. QBE also contributed to ICA’s updated Climate Change Roadmap: Towards a Net-Zero and Resilient Future.