Co-operators has raised its climate investing ambitions, setting a new goal to grow its climate solutions portfolio to US$3 billion by 2030, up from US$2 billion in 2024.
The insurer and financial services co-operative said the increase underlined its commitment to decarbonization, climate adaptation, and resilience against escalating risks such as wildfires and floods.
President and CEO Rob Wesseling said the insurer sees both an opportunity and a responsibility to invest in ways that contribute to a more sustainable future. The new targets, he noted, are intended to align financial security for Canadians with broader environmental goals.
Chad Park, vice-president of sustainability and citizenship at Co-operators, added that the rising economic toll of climate-related disasters underscores the urgency of mobilizing capital. He said climate investing provides businesses with a direct way to respond to those pressures.
To guide its portfolio strategy, Co-operators has introduced an updated investment framework co-developed with its asset management subsidiary, Addenda Capital. Addenda CEO Roger Beauchemin said the framework reflects global best practices and is designed to help institutional investors scale capital while aligning with the transition to a net-zero economy.
The new target builds on Co-operators’ broader sustainability commitments. By 2026, the group aims for half of its assets under management to be invested in impact or climate transition projects, rising to 60% by 2030. It has already surpassed its near-term benchmark, reporting that 52.6% of its portfolio was invested in such assets at the end of 2024. The insurer has also pledged to phase out unabated thermal coal across its entire portfolio by 2030 and cut the emissions intensity of its listed equity and corporate bond holdings by 40% from 2020 levels.
This positions Co-operators alongside a growing number of Canadian insurers integrating climate goals into their investment strategies. Sun Life, for example, has pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and has been channeling billions into sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy. Manulife has also accelerated its sustainable investing program, with targets to scale green bond holdings and expand investments in nature-based solutions.
By comparison, Co-operators’ decision to set a specific dollar target for climate solutions, rather than focusing solely on portfolio-wide emissions or percentages, underscores its intent to track tangible capital flows into projects such as renewable energy, clean transportation, and energy efficiency. In 2024, those investments generated 51.2 million megawatt-hours of renewable power, enough to supply electricity to 4.4 million homes.
The company was the first Canadian insurer to join the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a coalition of more than 80 asset owners worldwide committed to aligning portfolios with net-zero by 2050.
