We value the trust that our trading partners and communities place in us and we strive to be a good citizen and advocate for change from social exclusion to the environment.
At the heart of Aspen is our people – we are one team, wherever we work – and we are proud that our Corporate, Social Responsibility (CSR) activities are embraced across our business.
Our global CSR efforts are led by the Global CSR Committee while a local level, our regional sub-committees work to put our vision into practice and ensure that everyone can contribute.
We understand that we have a responsibility to not only offer the innovative products and service excellence our customers expect, we also have a responsibility to manage our business and act in the way they would us expect to.
We do this willingly and openly and we never lose our humility.
Our values and behaviours frame our activities as we strive to make positive impacts on the world around us.
We focus our efforts on three main pillars:
- Corporate philanthropy
- Volunteerism
- Environmental stewardship
We understand that real change takes time but we are clear in our objectives to deliver real change and advocacy in four key areas:
- The environment
- Investments in our communities
- Alignment with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
- Collaborative Volunteerism
The Environment
Implementing environmentally focused best practices – both in our communities and the workplace – is at the core of our green agenda. Our Aspen Green Team leads our efforts in this area to ensure that our work environments offer the best facilities and opportunities for environmental protection.
Ethical Underwriting
We also look to align our business activities to our responsibilities as a corporate citizen. This includes reviewing our current underwriting portfolios and practices with a view to setting strategies and policies around environmentally and socially responsible underwriting.
Our Carbon Footprint
The Aspen Green Team researched the data to determine our 2019 carbon footprint based on consumption of power, water, waste and heating which we offset through the Carbonfund.org Foundation. The Carbonfund.org Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides carbon offsetting and options for greenhouse gas reduction for individuals, businesses and organizations. Through this work, we supported the Panama Native Species Reforestation Project, in Chiriqui, Veraguas, and the Darien provinces of Panama, covering approximately 7,000 acres of rainforest.
displacing electricity from grid-connected fossil fuel fired power plants to mitigate climate
change along with other environmental benefits.
nearly 25,000 acres of abandoned cattle pastures alongside the Pacific Coast of Panama.
drought, and famine.
Investments in Our Communities
Our people are empowered to help those in need close to them, whether helping the homeless, young people at risk, or through diversity and inclusion.
Adara
Our longest partnership to date is with the Adara Group – a relationship we have had for more than eleven years. Adara is an international development organisation, working with communities and local partners to promote the well-being of children and families in Uganda and Nepal.
Recent reports from Adara:
Remote Community Development Report January – June 2021 (PDF)
Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Report – January – June 2021 (PDF)
Bermuda College Foundation
Aspen is among a group of (re)insurers who have donated a total of $3.5 million donation to the Bermuda College Foundation to create a Career Development Centre. The centre and its programmes will help to enhance the Bermuda economy through increased access to development and training, certified assessments required for professional development, and an expanded technology infrastructure that allows for research and innovation.
“Ensuring our young people achieve their full potential is critical and this new centre will play an important part in developing and strengthening the Bermuda economy for the benefit of all long into the future.”
Christian Dunleavy, Chief Executive Officer of Aspen Bermuda Limited
Our Diversity and Inclusion Partnerships
We are committed to increasing and promoting cultural awareness, diversity and inclusion across the business and value our three sponsor partnerships, launched in 2021, with the Insurance Cultural Awareness Network (“iCAN”); the LGBT Insurance Network (“Link”); and the Gender Inclusion Network (“GIN”).
iCAN, the industry-wide independent network for multicultural inclusion across the insurance sector, will support our Race & Ethnicity network, aid in its recruitment efforts and provide employees with networking opportunities and bespoke mentoring programs. Link, the professional network for insurance professionals who are members of the LGBT+ community, aims to attract and retain more LGBT+ talent in the workplace. GIN promotes diversity and inclusion in supporting strong business performance and helping to drive cultural change.
While gender inclusion has come a long way, there is still much more work to be done, but it is encouraging that organizations such as Aspen recognize the importance of their role in supporting meaningful change.
GIN’s co-Chairs, Sabrina Pyneeandy and Jane Harley
All three sponsorships will help drive awareness of Aspen as a supporter of D&I at Lloyd’s and Inclusion@Lloyd’s.
Local, Proactive and Collaborative Volunteerism
Whether in teams or individually, we strive to make a real difference by helping those less fortunate.
Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership
Aspen has supported the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership, which works in an area close to our London office.
Our activities have included hosting a virtual work experience session with 50 students aged 16 to 18 from the St Paul’s Way Trust School in Mile End, East London.
“Learning what is required in the workforce and taking part in tasks that are part of work life gave me an insight into what work really is like.”
Virtual work experience student
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)
We are proud to be a member of United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). This voluntary leadership platform recognises and guides the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices. This includes aligning operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 9,500 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and more than 70 Local Networks.
We also support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
“Aspen is committed to making the UN Global Compact and its principles part of the strategy, culture and day-to-day operations of our company. We’re proud to join thousands of other companies that are globally committed to taking responsible business action to create the world we all want.”
Adam Barboza, Aspen Director of Corporate Social Responsibility
International Finance Corporation (IFC) partnership
Aspen partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help businesses in developing countries recover from the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“By combining IFC’s local market knowledge and expertise along with private insurance market capacity, we are able to push forward together with IFC’s aims of reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development.”
Henry MacHale, Co-Chief Underwriting Officer, Aspen Insurance U.K.