OUR  GOALS

We believe that acting responsibly and sustainably will help IFGL build a better business whilst having a lasting and positive impact on our staff, our policyholders and the environment.

And so we’re committed to progressing our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals:

Environmental: measuring and reducing our impact on the environment, with a view to becoming carbon-neutral and achieving net-zero emissions

Social: aiming to have a positive social impact in the communities in which we operate by promoting diversity, fairness and responsible business conduct

Governance: ensuring we have appropriate governance and decision-making structures in place to mitigate risk and having a positive impact in the locations we operate in

We believe that working towards achieving this is the right thing to do, and aligns our goals and values with those of our staff, our policyholders/financial advisers and the communities we are based in.

Examples of our ESG considerations are shown in the table below:

EnvironmentalSocialGovernanceFactors contributing to climate changePreservation of human rightsManagement structureEfficient energy consumptionEquality and diversityCompany cultureResponsible disposal of wasteNon-discriminatory employment practicesEmployee relations and workplace grievancesSustainability of resourcesHealth and safetyEffective governance
What are we doing?

We have created an ESG Committee to drive forward our ESG initiatives and ensure we continually achieve and improve upon our ESG Commitments. This Committee provides quarterly reports on our ESG performance to the IFGL Board.

Our carbon footprint

In 2021 we carried out a full assessment of IFGL’s Carbon footprint, to provide a baseline to measure progress.

We discovered that, given we employ more than 550 people, in relative terms we have a low footprint starting point. However, we are keen to reduce our footprint further, and where we cannot reduce it we are making plans to offset it.

To help reduce our Carbon Footprint we have introduced the following initiatives in our Isle of Man offices during 2022:

Electric Vehicle charging pointsA car-sharing schemeRecycling bins to recycle cans, glass and plasticsWe are actively exploring a range of other options to help us reduce our footprint. We are also seeking offsetting opportunities for us to mitigate the impact of the carbon we cannot reduce.
Our 2023 ESG scorecard

We have created a scorecard to track our progress in delivering our ESG strategy. We report on progress on each metric to our Board each quarter. The scorecard is a mix of monitoring initiatives we have already started, and identifying new ESG enterprises. Our 2023 goals are as follows:

ImpactMetricEnvironmentalExpand ESG fund range over the next 5 yearsIncrease Assets under Administration invested in ESG fundsIdentify carbon offsetting projects by 31 December 2023Recalculate IFGL CO2 emissions for 2022 and see how changed since initial assessment. Due end of H123Engage with IOM Government advisors around ‘Green’ electricity tarriffMaintain & monitor Car Share SchemeExpand recycling Scheme in all locations by 31 December 2023Increase usage of electric car charging points in Isle of Man office locations by 31 December 2023SocialBe a local living wage & hours employer by 31 December 2023Evaluate and encourage our core suppliers to become local living wage employers, with a view to increase % of suppliers to adoptedEmbed the newly combined new Isle of Man based Staff Charity Committee covering all Business Areas & SitesSupport local charities across the all offices during 2023Develop, and extend our succession plans with a view to increasing our leadership diversity across the GroupStaff awareness and communications for each initiativeGovernanceProduce annual ESG Report and implement quarterly ESG reporting to the BoardInclude material ESG risks in the quarterly Group Risk Director’s ReportParticipate in regulatory consultations by specified deadlinesEnsure all relevant Committee Meetings TOR consider any ESG considerationsProactive and open regulatory engagement at a strategic and operational level
Investing for good

Our clients’ desire to invest in more socially responsible funds is growing. Our clients increasingly want to invest in ways that reflect their view of the world (without sacrificing returns).

We have therefore made it easy for our customers to follow their hearts and their heads when selecting how their money is invested.

We offer a large and growing range of thematic ESG funds in our RL360 and Friends Provident International defined fund ranges for those who want to invest in ESG specific funds. We’ve also teamed up with Morningstar to apply the Morningstar Sustainability Rating to every fund we offer, so clients can see exactly how ESG-friendly each investment choice is.