Stockholm (NordSIP) – At a time of retreating ESG confidence, committed sustainable investors continued to highlight their sustainability credentials despite the idiosyncracies of popular opinion. Nordic asset owners remain an example of sustainability integration.
In recognition of one such institutional investor, EcoVadis, a business sustainability rating provider assessing companies’ sustainability, awarded Varma a Platinum EcoVadis Medal for the fourth time, ranking the Finnish pension manager in the top percentile among the 150,000 companies analyzed.
EcoVadis assesses companies on their sustainability performance from the perspectives of environmental issues, labor practices and human rights, ethical business conduct, and supply chain and procurement sustainability. The independent assessment report was completed in December 2024 and Varma’s overall score was 82%, up from 81% in 2023.
“It is noteworthy that while we gained one more point than last year, the Platinum threshold also increased by one point. As our overall score is already at such a high level, further advancing sustainability becomes increasingly challenging,” says Hanna Kaskela, Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Communications.
Although the EcoVadis ‘ assessment covers all sectors, it is possible to compare Varma’s performance in relation to its peers in the “insurance, reinsurance, and pension fund industry” category. There were 251 companies evaluated from this sector, with an average score of 57%. Given this average, Kaskela noted that “Varma ranked significantly above the average.”
Of all the elements of Ecovadis’ assessment, Varma performed best in its environmental sustainability, scoring 90%, with the evaluation noting that Varma’s Environmental Policy “excellently combines commitments and related goals in essential environmental matters.”
Varma’s “work life and human rights” practices was also particularly well received by EcoVadis , which scored it at 80%.
