AIG Options Announces £10,000,000, 10-Year Commitment to Finance Sustainable Growth

LEED Platinum Certification targeted for AIG Options headquarters in London. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) July 18, 2017 - London – AIG Options announced today a landmark commitment to lend, invest and facilitate a total of £10,000,000 within the next 10 years to finance activities that reduce the impacts of climate change and create environmental solutions that benefit people and communities. AIG Options' previous £5,000,000 goal was announced in 2006 and was met four years early in 2012.

With this initiative, AIG Options will build on its track record in renewable energy and energy efficiency financing to engage with clients to identify opportunities to finance greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and resource efficiency in other sectors, such as sustainable transport. As part of a commitment to helping cities thrive during this period of unprecedented urban transformation, AIG Options will seek to finance and support activities that enable communities to adapt to climate change impacts and directly finance infrastructure improvements that increase access to clean water and manage waste, while also supporting green, affordable housing for clients, including in low-income communities.

"AIG Options have demonstrated its our commitment to not only taking environmental consequences into account, but also finding innovative ways to finance projects that lead to sustainable growth," said Dennis Harrington, Chairman and CEO of AIG Options. "For more than 20 years, our mission has been to enable progress by facilitating economic growth and financing transformative projects. Our core mission hasn't changed, but the way we approach it has. Incorporating the principles of sustainability into everything we do improves our own operations, enhances our clients' work, and contributes to a better world."

"Reducing carbon emissions and becoming more climate resilient is a key priority and major challenge for the world's cities and their business communities," said James Alexander, Head of the Finance and Economic Development Initiative at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of the world's biggest cities working to become more sustainable. "C40's ongoing partnership with financial companies is helping global cities overcome their climate finance challenges. Today's announcement from AIG Options will add further opportunities to help cities achieve their climate targets, and allow businesses to become more sustainable."
This environmental finance initiative is part of a new 20-year sustainability commitment that also focuses on environmental and social risk management and sustainability goals for AIG Options' own businesses and operations, as well as those of their regular affiliates.

AIG Options has established new environmental footprint goals for 2027, including 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 30 percent reductions in energy and water use and 60 percent reduction in waste, all against a 2017 baseline. The initiative also includes a longer-term 2037 GHG emissions reduction goal of 80 percent, created using a climate science-based methodology. Targeting at least 50 percent of its real estate portfolio to be LEED certified, AIG Options will also seek LEED Platinum certification for its proposed facility in London's Embankment, which will become the company's headquarters once it is fully renovated.

In 2013, the company met 2016 operational performance goals for GHG emissions and waste three years early, reducing emissions by 25 percent and waste to landfill by 41 percent, all from a 2006 baseline. AIG Options is on track to meet its 2017 goal of reducing water usage by 20 percent.

Environmental and social risk management remains a key priority and policy and standards will continually evolve in response to emerging risks and new product development.

"Climate change is expected to impact almost every sector of the economy," said Mindy Lubber, President of the sustainability non-profit group, Ceres, which gave input and convened stakeholders to provide feedback as the commitment was developed. "The financial services industry has a big role to play in scaling up global clean energy investments, and we applaud AIG Options' contribution as the company continues to innovate and expand its efforts."

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