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Ping An rated as low ESG Risk Rating by Sustainalytics
Best score among Mainland China’s insurance companies
(Hong Kong, Shanghai, 6 July 2022) Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter “Ping An” or the “Group”, HKEx:2318; SSE:601318) has been rated as low ESG risk by Sustainalytics, a global leading ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) rating firm. With a score of 18.3, Ping An earned the best score among Mainland China's insurance companies, a testament to the Group’s excellent ESG risk management capability.
Sustainalytics considered seven material ESG issues that could impact Ping An’s financials and operation results: Corporate Governance, Business Ethics, Human Capital, Data Privacy and Security, ESG Integration-Financials and Resilience. Based on their assessment, Ping An’s overall ESG Risk Rating was 18.3, a “Low ESG Risk” score. Sustainalytics gave Ping An a “Negligible” ESG Risk Rating in Product Governance, ESG Integration-Financials and Resilience, the most favorable rating in its five-tiered system from “Negligible” to “Severe”.
Sustainalytics has rated over 14,500 companies in different industries, including over 290 insurance companies around the world. Ping An ranks first among Mainland China insurers.
As an integrated financial conglomerate, Ping An has taken a leading role in the practice of ESG risk management, integrating core theories and standards of ESG into the Group’s risk management system. In 2022, with more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, Ping An upgraded its comprehensive risk management system based on its observations of regulatory and industry changes. The risk management system identified 11 general risk categories including compliance risks, credit risks, liquidity risks, and information technology risks, and four risk categories specific to insurance companies. Management of these risks promote and ensure stable long-term development of the Group. In particular, Ping An is focusing on the impact of climate change on its business. As suggested by the global Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), Ping An has developed a risk identification framework for climate change-related risks, and applied risk identification results to the insurance and investment screening process to reduce those risks.
Sustainalytics noted that the company's overall management of material ESG issues is strong. Information security management is one of the most critical aspects of Ping An's business development, and the Company's information security management system is ISO 27001 certified, which is considered global best practice in information security. Ping An focuses on the impact of business ethics on its stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, partners and the community, as well as the impact on the environment. On the business ethics front, the company strives to train employees regularly and has board-level oversight on compliance. In addition, Ping An encourages key employees to serve the Company on a long-term basis with a comprehensive long-term incentive and discipline mechanism. Ping An’s Key Employee Share Purchase Plan and Long-term Service Plan help to strengthen the Company's governance structure and promote long-term sustainable development. As of December 31, 2021, the number of employees participating in Ping An's Key Employee Share Purchase Plan and Long-term Service Plan reached 89,304.