Marsh unveils tool to measure ESG performance

Marsh LLC said Monday it has launched a tool that enables organizations to measure their environmental, social and governance performance and gain access to additional insurance market capacity for ESG-related risks.

As part of the initiative, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group will offer its U.S. and Canada policyholders that opt into Marsh’s ESG rating tool complimentary access to its risk advisory services on sustainability and climate-related risks.

The rating tool scores an organization’s performance across 18 ESG areas measured against more than 10 internationally recognized standards and frameworks from organizations including the Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and the World Economic Forum, Marsh said.

Organizations are increasingly being asked to provide ESG metrics as they secure insurance coverage and the rating can be shared with their external stakeholders, Marsh said.

“Marsh firmly believes that insurers should recognize organizations with strong ESG frameworks as better risks,” said Amy Barnes, head of climate and sustainability strategy at Marsh, said in a statement.

The brokerage looks forward to working with other parts of the insurance market on this initiative, she said.

Marsh said it also plans to publish anonymized ESG risk insights by country and sector to help clients manage their risks and understand how their ESG performance correlates with losses.

Last year, Marsh introduced a directors and officers liability insurance initiative that recognizes U.S.-based clients with superior ESG frameworks.