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November 10, 2021

The Hartford to spend $2.5B to address climate change, support renewable energy

Photo | CoStar The Hartford's Asylum Hill headquarters in Hartford.
By Zachary Vasile

Property and casualty insurer The Hartford plans to spend $2.5 billion over the next five years to address climate change and support renewable energy initiatives.

In a statement, company officials said The Hartford will invest the money in “technologies, companies and funds which are advancing the energy transition and addressing climate change.” The firm also plans to exit all tar-sands investments by Dec. 31, two years earlier than projected in The Hartford’s 2019 coal and tar sands policy.

The company expects to exit certain coal investments by the end of 2023.

“As a 211-year-old insurer and asset manager, we view the transition to a greener society as a business imperative, and we are doing our part,” said Chairman and CEO Christopher Swift. “We are demonstrating our environmental commitment through our actions across the business, ranging from insurance solutions that encourage sustainable construction to investments by the company in renewable energy.”

The Hartford also announced that it has signed the United Nations Global Compact, a non-binding pledge encouraging businesses to adopt more environmentally and socially sustainable policies and report on their progress toward those goals. Company officials said the firm is one of the first property-casualty insurers to sign the compact.

The Hartford first announced plans to scale down investments connected to fossil fuels two years ago. At the time, executives said they would not provide any new underwriting or investments for the construction or operation of new coal-fired power plants, or for companies that derive more than 25% of their revenues from thermal coal mining or the extraction of oil from tar sands.

The Hartford met its goal of 100% renewable-energy-source consumption for its facilities last year, 10 years before its self-imposed deadline.

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