MAPFRE Fosters Decarbonization Via Wind Energy

Global insurance giant MAPFRE compensated 15.400 tons of CO2 by sourcing its energy from the wind farm Parque Eólico Oaxaca IV, located in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca. Powered by one of the largest wind-powered projects in Latin America, MAPFRE’s compensation represents 79 percent of carbon emissions generated in Spain and Portugal in 2021.

The company’s decarbonization is part of the Environmental Footprint Corporative Plan 2021-2030, which includes other environmental and social campaigns that MAPFRE aims to implement to compensate for the number of emissions that it fails to reduce.

In 2021, the company launched Bosque MAPFRE, a reforestation project dedicated to preserving biodiversity, investing in natural capital and building carbon sinks in areas where the company operates. As a result, the Spanish multinational was able to plant up to 6,451 trees in Spain and Portugal, absorbing 4,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere and neutralizing 21 percent of carbon emissions from these two countries. During the year, MAPFRE reached carbon neutrality in Spain and Portugal.

This year, MAPFRE joined the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) with the objective of reaching net-zero in all its insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios. According to Andrea Cano, Consultant, Tlalli Energia, reaching these goals requires committed companies to reduce their emissions following science-based pathways, “with any remaining GHG emissions attributable to that actor being fully neutralized by like-for-like removals … either within the value chain or through the purchase of valid offset credits.”

In the case of MAPFRE, this will mean reducing carbon emissions to an absolute minimum, even those that are caused by the very processes meant to mitigate. Antonio Huertas, President, MAPFRE, emphasized that decarbonization was essential to maintain the planet’s habitability, so the company is striving for net-zero by managing its carbon footprint and promoting a circular economy model.

For multinational companies like MAPFRE, the commitments of net-zero also entail establishing decarbonization agreements with its main clients, and not only adopting new production strategies and services but also actively promoting them across its underwriting portfolios. So far, MAPFRE has succeeded to promote a high standard among other large-size companies that generally attempt to do very little to decarbonize their processes. The Spanish multinational does not invest in other companies that at least 20 percent of their profits are carbon powered.

As much progress as the company can claim, the threateningly rapid pace at which Climate authorities are calling industries to effectively work toward decarbonization proves that much more urgent and general action is needed to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C. UN Secretary General António Guterres launched an outspoken attack on the overwhelming number of companies whose decarbonization commitments are far from being met. In addition, the companies are not being transparent about the issue, as shown in a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) launched in April 2022.

“Simply put, they are lying, and the results will be catastrophic,” said Guterres. Although he specifically called out oil and gas companies, he emphasized how at this point all companies must comply, as the world is in a race against time.