RGA embraces our responsibility to operate sustainably and with integrity.

At RGA, we embrace our responsibility to adopt sustainable, environmentally friendly business practices and to embed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria in investment strategies. 

Notably, RGA has pledged to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout our global operations by the end of 2026. Reducing our carbon footprint begins with monitoring carbon emissions, and RGA follows the GHG Protocol, a global standardized framework established by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). RGA will replace or mitigate Scope One and Two emissions, such as office emissions or emissions from electricity production on our behalf, through reductions, green energy purchases, or other means.

Progress against all targets will be evaluated based on pre-pandemic 2019 emission levels and will be communicated in annual sustainability reports.

Climate change represents a threat to the health and wellbeing of the planet. As a member of the Geneva Association Task Force on Climate Change Risk Assessment, RGA is dedicated to uniting the insurance industry in action. Addressing climate change is central to RGA's purpose: to protect people. 

• Operating in a Sustainable Manner: RGA's headquarters and largest operating facility, based in Chesterfield, Missouri, was constructed in line with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold requirements. To qualify for this prestigious certification, the state-of-the-art building achieves high energy and environmental efficiencies through sophisticated automation that collects information from hundreds of data points, automatically adjusting to optimize operations. The building also operates an advanced rainwater collection system that uses bioretention ponds to naturally filter and clean the water runoff from the site. Landscaping includes native grasses and plants to minimize the use of irrigation and offer a biodiverse wildlife habitat.
  
  RGA also seeks to contract with sustainable food suppliers and other vendors, and has implemented energy-efficient and waste reduction technologies and techniques at our offices around the world. Employee-led "green" committees have undertaken initiatives to reduce paper and plastic consumption and implement robust recycling efforts. 

• Climate Change: The impact of an increase in global average temperatures could cause changes in weather patterns, resulting in more severe and more frequent natural disasters such as forest fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and storm surges and may impact disease incidence and severity, food and water supplies and the general health of impacted populations. These climate change trends are expected to continue in the future and may impact nearly all sectors of the economy to varying degrees.
  
  As such climate change is actively monitored. While the long-term impacts of climate change for the company and our clients are unknown, as part of the ongoing monitoring of RGA’s emerging experience for anything that might change underlying mortality and morbidity trends, scenario reviews and planning are undertaken for various climate-change-related events.
  
  RGA considers the potential effects of climate change in our ORSA and enterprise risk management processes, which inform our business strategy.
  
  
• Investing in Sustainable Values: In addition to economic and financial considerations, we evaluate and incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria when making investment decisions.
  
  ESG factors are an integral part of our research, analysis, and ongoing monitoring of our corporate bond investments. For example, RGA surpassed the $400 million mark in green bond investments.  We believe that good governance practices and a commitment to corporate responsibility by bond issuers can enhance investment opportunities and meaningfully affect investment performance. RGA also believes long-term sustainability concerns impact both investors and society and thus should be considered when making investment decisions. Incorporating ESG factors is core to understanding a company’s long-term viability, profit potential, and return on investment and these factors are key components of RGA’s investment research and decision making.

Also, when making real estate investments, RGA employs a disciplined process that seeks to uncover opportunities, evaluate potential risks, and effectively mitigate any risk to meet our investment objectives. ESG analysis is incorporated into our underwriting process when evaluating new commercial real estate mortgage and equity investments, as well as for monitoring  throughout the lifecycle of each investment. Environmental  assessments are conducted for each commercial property to detect any existing or potential future environmental, health or safety issues. Including ESG considerations as part of our underwriting and due diligence process results in higher quality investments and generates greater risk-adjusted returns. 

As part of RGA’s commitment to social responsibility and environmental sustainability, we are committed to the continuation and expansion of socially and environmentally responsible investment policies within our investment portfolio and will look at other ways that our investments can help support healthier and more sustainable communities.