Allianz Leben, the life insurance arm of Allianz, is ensuring the sustainability of its investments using an ESG scoring system.

Developed in cooperation with NGOs Transparency International, World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) and Germanwatch, the organisation sees the move as a future-proofing measure that can assess the risks and opportunities related to sustainability for individual investments.

In an economic environment of low level of interest rates, Allianz Leben is targeting high-yield investments such as stocks, private finance, real estate, infrastructure and renewable energy, and these now account for 20 per cent of its total portfolio.

The scoring approach measures investments in over 8,000 companies and governments in terms of sustainability. The central element of the ESG scoring is the identification of the risks related to the sustainable development of the investments. This involves assessment of issuers of the assets based on 37 key areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, rated energy efficiency, occupational safety, data protection, corruption and money laundering: assessment focuses on ecological commitment.

The two major Allianz investment management companies, AllianzGI and PIMCO, rely on the ESG data and have committed themselves to implementing the new process for investments on behalf of Allianz.

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