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
Episode 6 - Disaster Protection
This episode focuses on Disaster Protection with Daniel Clarke from the Centre for Disaster Protection (CDP). Shyam Gharial explores how Daniel’s work is linked to many of the SDGs, including climate change, inequality, decent work, partnership for goals, and how an actuarial skillset can be utilised in this area of work.
Daniel’s work aims to improve efficiencies in disaster risk financing. The CDP’s role in the Crisis Lookout Coalition is highlighted in their call for G7 leaders to better predict and prepare for crises, as well as to better protect people.This is a hugely topical theme given the Covid-19 pandemic and climate crisis.
Episode 7 - Sustainable development and the well-being of future generations
In this episode of the SDG podcast series, Sustainability Board member, Shyam Gharial speaks to Jane Davidson, a former Welsh Assembly member in government between 1999 and 2011. As Minister for the Environment, Sustainability & Housing, Jane proposed legislation to make sustainable development the central organising principle for the government in Wales through what became known as the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, which passed into law in 2015. Many other nations have been looking at how to implement similar legislation, including for the UK. The discussion touches on topics of intergenerational fairness, intragenerational fairness and the role that financial services can play in moving towards a more sustainable society.
Host: Shyam Gharial
Guests: Jane Davidson
The links mentioned in this episode for further information are as follows:
- Today for Tomorrow – the cross-party campaign for a Well-being of Future Generations Bill for the UK
- Future Generations Commissioner for Wales – website covering the work of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and related resources
- #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country – Jane’s book describing the inspiring story of how and why the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act came to be
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Events calendar
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CILA 2022
23 May 2022 - 24 May 2022We 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; transitioning to Net Zero; increased inflationary pressures and supply chain issues; to self-imposed changes in regulatory requirements. CILA 2022 focuses on these challenges to ensure we continue to be informed and remain battle ready, as well as showcasing highlights of recent CMI outputs.
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Opportunity to participate in a virtual Roundtable Discussion hosted by the IFoA in conjunction with the City of London Corporation’s Socio-economic Diversity Taskforce
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Annual General Meeting 2022
15 June 2022In the spirit of fostering the IFoA’s vibrant, global community and enabling our members to participate, we have decided to hold our AGM virtually again this year. This allows for greater accessibility to this important annual event, and for greater accountability of our organisation.
The Business of the AGM
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IFoA Presidential Address 2022
16 June 2022Join newly inaugurated IFoA President, Matt Saker, for his Presidential Address.
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The IFoA Conference 2022
133 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7BX and Online22 June 2022 - 23 June 2022
We’re delighted to welcome you back to our first in-person conference since early 2020, also being delivered virtually in our first-ever hybrid event. The theme of our inaugural two-day conference is ‘Focusing on tomorrow’s actuary’ and will explore the contribution actuarial science is making to some of tomorrow’s biggest issues.
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This webinar will cover:
• Some background on the risks of misselling in an ESG context, including the DWS case
• Achieving positive impact is a strong antidote to the risks of greenwashing or ESG misselling, however this risks having a tension with fiduciary responsibilities
• This tension can be resolved with a concept called Universal Ownership
• Under Universal ownership, investors have an appetite to make a loss in order to achieve positive impact, and yet still have no compromise on their fiduciary responsibilities
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This session will focus on the transformation roadmap of the healthcare sector in KSA and the role of actuarial capabilities in enhancing its evolution to the desired end stage as per the objectives of the Vision 2030. The discussion will focus how the system has evolved so far and shed light on the expected future changes. Through examining the transformation, we will highlight how the sector is and can use actuarial expertise to not only assist with this transformation but also use basic actuarial principles to identify the key risks and their respective mitigation strategies.
