Sustainable Investment Management

Girl on the shoulder of a man

To achieve the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, the rapid and complete decarbonisation of the economy is a prerequisite.

Decarbonisation Strategy 

The UNIQA Group committed in 2019 to exclude coal from its investments. For direct investments in companies, we not only exclude issuers involved in coal mining but also those engaged in coal-based energy production.

Furthermore, starting in 2025, additional coal-related restrictions for direct investments will be implemented, covering coal processing and heat generation. The UNIQA Group's coal exit policy, as well as its phase-out plan for other fossil fuels and nuclear energy, are outlined in the Decarbonization Strategy.




As part of our memberships in the United Nations Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) and the Austrian Green Finance Alliance (GFA), we are committed to gradually decarbonising our investment portfolio to align with the Paris 1.5-degrees Cesius climate target pathway as much as possible and to achieve net-zero emissions in our investments by 2050 across the Group.

GFA



The successful validation of our climate interim targets by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in 2023 further enhances our sustainability strategy in investments.

Further information can be found in the Science Based Targets Initiative summary.

SBTi

Phase-out from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy 

By 2030, we aim for a gradual transformation of our portfolio and intend to reduce our Scope 3 emissions, which largely arise from our investments in Scope 3.15 (investments), by encouraging our investees to set their own science-based climate targets.

Through collaboration with our specialized data provider, ISS (Institutional Shareholder Services), we are able to conduct a comprehensive analysis of our investments in relation to various sustainability factors. We need this data on our investees to ensure our exclusion and phase-out strategy, which provides for the following limits:

Coal

  • Since 2019, we have been gradually implementing our coal exclusion criteria for our own investments.
  • As a result, since 2024, we hold no direct investments in our own portfolio in thermal coal producers or energy providers that generate electricity from coal if more than 5 percent of their revenue comes from coal.

Oil 

  • Unconventional oil projects have not been financed since the end of 2022.
  • From 2025, no new direct investments will be made in oil projects aimed at expanding oil infrastructure or in companies that generate more than 30 per cent of their revenue from the oil sector.
  • By the end of 2030, we will phase out all investments in companies that generate more than 5 per cent of their revenue from the oil sector.

Natural Gas

  • From 2026, no new direct investments will be made in projects aimed at expanding natural gas infrastructure or in companies that generate more than 30 per cent of their revenue from the natural gas sector.
  • Additionally, we will phase out investments in any company that generates more than 5 per cent of its revenue from activities in the natural gas sector by the end of 2035 (exceptions apply for companies and projects that operate in alignment with the EU Taxonomy, SBTi and the Paris Climate Agreement).

Nuclear Energy 

  • From 2025, no investments will be made in nuclear energy projects aimed at expanding nuclear energy infrastructure.
  • By the end of 2035, we plan to phase out all investments in companies that generate more than 5 per cent of their revenue from activities in the nuclear energy sector (exceptions apply for companies and projects that operate in alignment with the EU Taxonomy, SBTi and the Paris Climate Agreement).

VÖNIX 

The VÖNIX (VBV Austrian Sustainability Index) is an Austrian sustainability index that includes companies listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange that are leaders in social and ecological criteria. The index was introduced in 2005 and is reconstituted annually based on a comprehensive analysis. The UNIQA Group is part of this index and was rated with a ba in the indicative rating, corresponding to a score of 1.7.

VOENIX

Strategy for Sustainable Investments 

The UNIQA Group finances issuers who contribute to emissions reduction or social projects, following sustainability definitions for each asset class: Green, Social, and Sustainability Bonds in accordance with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Principles. Funds are included in our sustainable investments in line with Article 9 (dark green funds) of the EU Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), representing investments with the pursuit of a sustainability objective as defined by the SFDR. Additionally, qualified investments in infrastructure projects are also included in our sustainable investments. The sustainable investment strategy is outlined in the UNIQA Group Responsible Investment Guideline, and investments made are regularly monitored by Risk Management.

Statement by UNIQA Capital Markets GmbH on the Principle Adverse Sustainability Impacts of investment decisions according to Art 4 SFDR (EU 2019/2088)

According to the EU Disclosure Regulation Art. 4 SFDR, financial market participants are obliged to publish their report on the impact of the Principle Adverse Sustainability Impacts  of investment decisions and a statement on due diligence strategies in connection with these effects. UNIQA Capital Markets GmbH is the UNIQA Group's internal financial services provider; due to the lack of its own homepage, the report is published via this link on the UNIQA Group homepage.

UNIQA Hybrid Green Bond

In 2020 UNIQA was the first insurance company in Austria which placed a “green” subordinate bond worth €200 million. The issue volume of this ten-year bond amounted to €200 million and will be invested in climate and environmental protection projects in Europe and in OECD countries. The primary focus will be on sectors such as wind and solar energy, waste recycling, environmentally friendly transportation solutions and water management. All projects are directly related to the SDGs with the topics of clean energy and water, innovative infrastructure and sustainable cities and communities at the top of the list. 

Within 1 year of issuance, and annually thereafter until full allocation of the Green Bond Proceeds, UNIQA will provide an External Report to investors. This will include (i) an Allocation Report and (ii) an Impact Report, subject to the availability of suitable information and data.

Engagement Strategy

Since 2022, the UNIQA Group has pursued both proactive and reactive engagement within its engagement strategy, maintaining direct and indirect contact with investees. In 2023, we further expanded this strategy. Our engagements with companies aim to improve the performance of our investees, particularly regarding their climate strategies, decarbonisation goals, and measures. Through our engagements, we foster active dialogue to promote the idea of transition and, where possible, avoid the need for divestment. 

Proactive engagement refers to our direct bilateral engagements with individual companies, focusing on those that account for 65 per cent of our financed emissions. Over the next four years, we aim to drive progress in these companies through bilateral discussions with their ESG teams, focusing on their specific goals. 

Reactive engagement includes collaborative engagement, which we have pursued since 2022 as part of our membership in the investor initiative Climate Action 100+ (CA 100+). This initiative brings together a group of international investors to engage with companies that are among the 170 most emissions-intensive globally, with the aim of aligning their climate strategies and disclosures with science-based climate targets. 

Additionally, since 2023, we have pursued controversial or norm-based engagement, led by ISS. ISS facilitates engagement between investors and companies that commit serious and systemic violations of normative criteria in areas such as corporate governance, human and labour rights, the environment, bribery, and corruption, or fail to take adequate measures to address and mitigate these issues. This particularly includes violations of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) principles and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Through our engagements, we aim to persuade our investees to:  

  • Implement a governance framework that establishes responsibilities and oversight duties related to climate risks.
  • Take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the entire value chain, in line with the Paris 1.5-degree Celsius climate target pathway, and set SBTi-validated goals where they are not yet in place.
  • Provide transparent disclosures to demonstrate the resilience of their corporate strategies against various climate scenarios.