Piraeus upgraded to ‘AAA’ ESG Rating by MSCI
MSCI has upgraded Piraeus’ ESG Rating from ‘AA’ to ‘AAA’, which is the highest rating available by MSCI on sustainability.
This is the first time Piraeus has achieved the top score, positioning the Bank as one of the leaders in sustainability in the financial industry at international level.
The Bank has managed to consistently improve its position from the ‘BBB’ rating in late 2020, to a ‘AAA’ rating, being the only Greek company at this level currently. It is worth mentioning that only 18% of the global universe under MSCI ESG rating is now rated ‘AAA’.
MSCI ESG Ratings aim to measure a company’s resilience to long-term ESG risks. Companies are scored on an industry-relative ‘AAA’ to ‘CCC’ scale across the most relevant key issues based on their business model.
The upgrade highlights Piraeus’ advancements in several critical areas, building on its existing strengths and improvements in sustainability reporting, particularly its alignment with the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
These initiatives offer enhanced transparency regarding Piraeus’ management of environmental, social, and governance matters throughout its operations.
This recognition further reinforces Piraeus’ reputation among institutional clients and investors. As ESG ratings become increasingly significant in capital allocation decisions, MSCI’s upgrade highlights our ongoing advancement in integrating sustainability into our overall business strategy.
Helvetia now rated ‘A’ in sustainability by MSCI
The independent rating agency MSCI has upgraded Helvetia’s ESG rating to ‘A’, thus acknowledging the measures the insurance group has taken in the area of sustainability. As Helvetia’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, Kaspar Hartmann will implement and further develop the sustainability strategy with even more drive in the future.As a European financial service provider, Helvetia wants to contribute to the sustainable development of business and society. As part of the Sustainability Strategy 20.25, the insurance group is pursuing the ambition of being committed to sustainability and being there when it matters, in line with its purpose. To do so, Helvetia is focussing on four areas that are relevant to its stakeholders and the insurance industry: its own business operations, customers and products, investments, and culture and governance. Examples of milestones that have already been achieved include CO2 neutrality for own operations since 2017, signing the UN Principles for Responsible Investment in 2020 and adopting the Responsible Investment Strategy 2021. Improved sustainability rating
The recent rating increase to ‘A’ (previously ‘BBB’) by the independent rating agency MSCI shows that the various measures taken in the area of sustainability over the past few years are viewed very positively. Helvetia has therefore achieved the goal of an ‘A’ ESG rating from MSCI set as part of the Sustainability Strategy 20.25 and will continue to work hard on sustainability issues and push forward improvements. Kaspar Hartmann becomes Chief Corporate Sustainability Officer
Philipp Gmür, Group CEO of Helvetia, emphasises: “Sustainability is a key success factor for our company. With our business model, we promote economic, social and environmental action, and thus deliver sustainable financial performance.” That’s why Helvetia is also strengthening its sustainability work on an organisational level: Kaspar Hartmann is now Helvetia’s Chief Sustainability Officer. In this newly created role, he will be implementing and further developing the Group-wide sustainability strategy with even more drive. Kaspar Hartmann (46) has held various management positions at Helvetia in Switzerland and abroad for 17 years. Most recently, he has been successfully managing the non-life business at Helvetia Austria.