The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They were set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and intended to be achieved by the year 2030. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.
The aim of the podcast series is to highlight the relevance of the SDG’s to actuarial work, demonstrate where actuaries can contribute to achieving the SDG’s and showcase real life examples of people centring their work on the SDG’s across a range of actuarial practice areas.
Episode 1 - How can actuaries contribute to achieving the SDG's?
In this episode, Sustainability board member, Lucy Saye speaks to Dr Beate Degen and Past President Marjorie Ngwenya to discuss how the SDG’s interact with actuarial practice and the roles actuaries can play in achieving the SDG’s.
Intro & Production: Lucy Saye
Host: Lucy Saye
Guests: Marjorie Ngwenya & Beate Degen
Episode 2 - Biodiversity
In this episode, Chair of the Sustainability Board Nick Spencer speaks to Aled Jones (Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin) and Gillian Rutherford (Swiss Re) to discuss the impact of biodiversity on the insurance and finance industries.
Introduction: Melissa Leitner
Host: Nick Spencer
Guests: Gillian Rutherford & Aled Jones
Episode 3 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
In this episode, Sustainability Board member Lucy Saye speaks to Lisa Morgan from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) about SDG 8 decent work and economic growth and her work in the impact insurance team at the ILO.
Intro, Production & Host: Lucy Saye
Guest: Lisa Morgan
For more information about topics discussed in this episode please see the links below:
- https://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm
- http://www.impactinsurance.org
- https://www.unepfi.org/psi/
- https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/green-jobs/WCMS_213842/lang--en/index.htm
- Book recommendation: “Actuaries in Microinsurance: Managing Risk for the Underserved” Blacker J and Yang M, 2015
Episode 4 - Mental Health
In this episode, Melissa Leitner (Swiss Re, and Sustainability board volunteer) speaks to Sumit Misra (Bupa) and Kenneth McIvor (Willis Towers Watson) about how mental health is reflected in the SDGs, what the insurance industry is doing to better support people with mental health challenges, and the IFoA working party advancing this important work.
Intro & Production: Melissa Leitner
Host: Melissa Leitner
Guests: Sumit Misra & Kenneth McIvor
Episode 5 - Universal Ownership
In this episode Sustainability board member Lucy Saye speaks to Dr Ellen Quigley from the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge University on the topic of Universal Ownership. We explore the relevance of Universal Ownership to actuarial practice and the achievement of the SDG’s, covering topics such as climate change, inequality, the Covid 19 pandemic and actions Universal Owners such as pension funds and Life insurers can take to mitigate systemic risks.
More information about Universal Ownership can be found in the following papers:
- Universal Ownership in the Anthropocene
- Universal Ownership in the Age of Covid-19: Social Norms, Feedback Loops, and the Double Hermeneutic
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Events calendar
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Behavioural Science Series with Keith Grint - Wicked Problems, Clumsy Solutions and Leading Change
19 April 2021
Wicked Problems, Clumsy Solutions and Leading Change -
Dr Catherine Donnelly will present the basics of the structures for pooling longevity risks and summarise recent research results in this area in addition to outlinging future research around this topic. This is work under a research programme funded by the IFoA's Actuarial Research Centre, called 'Minimizing longevity and investment risk while optimising future pension plans'. -
Professional Skills Training Webinar - 21 April 2021
21 April 2021
Climate-Related Risk - This free to view webinar on Climate-Related Risk is the first in a series focusing on some of the ‘Hotspots’ identified in the JFAR Risk Perspective bringing the Risk Perspective to life with practical illustrations and insights from subject experts from the IFoA and other Regulators -
Recent decades have seen institutions, such as employers and financial services, give people more choice and flexibility, but these freedoms have come with more responsibilities. Individuals are now responsible for managing more of their own financial risks, from ensuring they put enough money into their pension to securing affordable protection to be financially resilient.
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Actuarial Innovation in the COVID-19 era
This event is online.26 April 2021 - 7 May 2021
Join us for this brand new IFoA webinar weries comprising of a fortnight of webinars, panel sessions and a hackathon, that showcase the range of ways in which the actuarial profession has added value, in the public interest, to the understanding and management of the current and future pandemics through insight and learning. -
This event is now temporarily closed on Monday 26 April, but the session will be repeated on Tuesday 27 April, 09.00-10.30. Please click here to register your place.
Actuaries have a lot to offer biodiversity management over the next decade as the world develops more depth to its response to this global challenge. This sessional offers an opportunity to learn about this emergent risk, to contribute to our thinking as a profession and help us develop the next steps forward.
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Europe Town Hall
28 April 2021
IFoA Immediate Past President John Taylor would like to invite you to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ (IFoA) virtual Europe Town Hall, hosted by John Taylor with IFoA Council Members Alan Rae, Jennifer Hartley, Maribel Vasquez Flores and IFoA Chief Executive, Stephen Mann.
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Mis-estimation risk is a key element of demographic risk, and past work has focused on mis-estimation risk on a run-off basis. However, this does not meet the requirements of regulatory regimes like Solvency II, which demands that capital requirements are set through the prism of a finite horizon like one year. This paper presents a value-at-risk approach to mis-estimation risk suitable for Solvency II work -
Finance & Investment Virtual Conference 2021
Available to watch globally in May.10-12 May 2021
This year's Finance and Investment Virtual Conference takes on the timely theme of ‘resilience’, something we have all learnt a lot more about in the last year! Our diverse range of talks will explore the theme of resilience in a variety of ways including in building robust investment portfolios, in the incorporation of ESG factors, in govern -
Wearables in insurance: a win-win opportunity
14 May 2021
This talk will explore the potential benefits that wearable tech can bring to health & protection insurers and their customers. The traditional approach of integrating wearables into insurance has largely focused on measuring steps and using rewards-based incentive programs to encourage more activity. -
Join us for this talk with Professor Sir Adrian Smith as part of the 'Dr Patrick Poon Presidential Speaker Series'. Professor Smith joined The Alan Turing Institute as Institute Director and Chief Executive in September 2018. In November 2020, he became President of the Royal Society, in addition to his leadership of the Turing. He is also a member of the government's AI Council, which helps boost AI growth in the UK and promote its adoption and ethical use in businesses and organisations across the country. He received a knighthood in the 2011 New Year Honours list. -
CILA 2021
Available to watch globally in May.19-21 May 2021
We continue to live in a world of global uncertainty. Survival depends on our ability to simultaneously navigate through the diverse root-causes, ranging from: the consequences of Climate Change; on-going financial consequences of the COVID pandemic; or self-imposed changes in regulatory requirements and accounting standards. -
Pensions Conference 2021
Online webinar series16-22 June 2021
Welcome to the programme for our 2nd Virtual Pensions Conference. This year's conference features 11 webinars offering members and non-members the opportunity to get up to date content from leading experts in the pension industry. There will also be opportunity to ask questions and contribute to the discussion.
Wicked Problems, Clumsy Solutions and Leading Change
Dr Catherine Donnelly will present the basics of the structures for pooling longevity risks and summarise recent research results in this area in addition to outlinging future research around this topic. This is work under a research programme funded by the IFoA's Actuarial Research Centre, called '
Climate-Related Risk - This free to view webinar on Climate-Related Risk is the first in a series focusing on some of the ‘Hotspots’ identified in the 
Join us for this brand new IFoA webinar weries comprising of a fortnight of webinars, panel sessions and a 
Mis-estimation risk is a key element of demographic risk, and past work has focused on mis-estimation risk on a run-off basis. However, this does not meet the requirements of regulatory regimes like Solvency II, which demands that capital requirements are set through the prism of a finite horizon like one year. This paper presents a value-at-risk approach to mis-estimation risk suitable for Solvency II work
This talk will explore the potential benefits that wearable tech can bring to health & protection insurers and their customers. The traditional approach of integrating wearables into insurance has largely focused on measuring steps and using rewards-based incentive programs to encourage more activity.
Join us for this talk with Professor Sir Adrian Smith as part of the 'Dr Patrick Poon Presidential Speaker Series'. Professor Smith joined The Alan Turing Institute as Institute Director and Chief Executive in September 2018. In November 2020, he became President of the Royal Society, in addition to his leadership of the Turing. He is also a member of the government's AI Council, which helps boost AI growth in the UK and promote its adoption and ethical use in businesses and organisations across the country. He received a knighthood in the 2011 New Year Honours list.
Welcome to the programme for our 2nd Virtual Pensions Conference. This year's conference features 11 webinars offering members and non-members the opportunity to get up to date content from leading experts in the pension industry. There will also be opportunity to ask questions and contribute to the discussion.