In order to meaningfully reverse the effects of climate change, there needs to be a coordinated effort across various industries to make changes in the present that have future benefits.
“It’s a team game,” said Paul Fletcher, chief corporate affairs officer at Aviva Canada.
“I think you can already see more and more organizations are entering these kinds of partnerships. And they’re not just insurance companies.”
Prolonged efforts must work in tandem with initiatives that have a more immediate impact on the environment and the communities that are dealing with the damages of nat cats.
“We’re interested in a ramping up flood defence and investments in new structure designed so that they are climate resilient,” Fletcher said.
In an interview with Insurance Business, Fletcher spoke about why Aviva Canada formed a partnership with Wild + Pine to create more natural carbon capture spaces and what lies ahead for the company’s philanthropic endeavours.
Earlier this month, Aviva announced its partnership with Wild + Pine, an Alberta-based group of environmental professionals and scientists that help companies achieve their climate objectives and revitalize ecosystems by developing carbon removal assets through afforestation.
This is part of a £100 million ($170 million) initiative on behalf of Aviva to invest in more nature-based projects to build better resilience and lessen the impacts of climate change, with Canada receiving a chunk of that sum.
“Reforestation, as part of the carbon capture journey is a good thing to be part of,” Fletcher said.
During a lengthy and thorough vetting process that began last year, Aviva Canada met with various organizations that were eager to carry out environmentally focused initiatives within the country.
Wild + Pine emerged from this very diligent process, and it stood out because of the organization’s ability to bring skills on the ground, as well as its proven history on reforestation projects.
“[Wild + Pine] had a project that they were working through at the time that fit the goals of Aviva really, really well,” Fletcher said. “Also, they’re an interesting organization with room to grow.”
Part of what makes Wild + Pine exciting to partner with is its innovative way of approaching the re/afforestation process, as it develops its own seed growing tools and techniques to help create more biodiversity.
Wild + Pine can help Aviva Canada in its afforestation process by securing a significant space of land to use for carbon capture purposes.
“They will do the land prep, planting, nurturing and will also ultimately be involved in the validation and the certification around the carbon credits,” Fletcher said.
With 520 hectares of land, the StoneWoods Forest Carbon project will be a protected space used for its ecological benefits.
“However, it will be open to the public to visit,” Fletcher added.
The endeavour is expected to remove nearly 275,000 tonnes of carbon over 60 years while supporting regional biodiversity, creating a valuable habitat for many local species including moose, elk, whitetail and mule deer, black bears, and great grey owls.
While Wild + Pine is a local organization, this does not mean that Aviva will not have any grander projects and partnerships in the future.
“What’s more important to us is the nature of the project that’s available,” Fletcher said. “And then obviously, the capabilities that can be brought to make that project successful.”
With the funding that is available to Aviva Canada, Fletcher noted how there will be more partnership announcements in the future as the carrier finds the right opportunities to invest.
“This isn’t the first kind of initiative and partnership that we’ve been involved in, and it won’t be the last,” he said.
Aviva is also an ongoing partner of The Nature Force initiative, which was founded by different P&C insurance businesses to help mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
“Many insurance brokers and companies are collaborating on Nature Force, which is the way the industry is able to show up and foster a collaborative ethos in this particular space,” Fletcher said.
