ICICI Prudential Life Insurance today said it has received a rating of 'A' in the MSCI ESG Ratings assessment with a score of 16.9.
MSCI ESG Ratings aim to measure a company’s management of financially relevant ESG risks and opportunities. It uses a rules-based methodology to identify industry leaders and laggards according to their exposure to ESG risks and how well they manage those risks relative to peers.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said it has focused initiatives in place for each dimension of the ESG framework under the Environment (Transitioning towards Green and Sustainable Operations), Social (Empowering Employees, Adopting Customer Centricity, and Helping Communities) and Governance (Enabling Robust Governance Structure and Effectively Managing Risks) pillars.
As a result of these initiatives ICICI Prudential Life Insurance received an ESG Risk Rating of 16.9 and was assessed by Sustainalytics to be at Low risk of experiencing material financial impact arising from ESG factors.
"ESG as one of the strategic elements has been a core part of path followed by the company in achieving its objective of doubling the FY2019 Value of New Business in FY2023. We remain committed to creating a culture that integrates ‘best in class’ sustainability practices with our business processes," the company's Managing Director and CEO N S Kannan said in the report.
The company has been making significant progress in integrating sustainability with its business processes and as a way of doing business since it commenced on their ESG journey in 2020.
This year, the company expanded the terms of reference of the Board CSR Committee to include review of sustainability activities and key ESG related disclosures.
According to MSCI, a "leader" (rated AAA & AA) indicates a company leading its industry in managing the most significant ESG risks and opportunities.
"Average" (rated A, BBB, or BB) companies are described by a mixed or unexceptional track record of managing ESG risks and opportunities relative to industry peers; while a "laggard" (rated B or CCC) trails its industry based on its high exposure and failure to manage significant ESG risks.