Intact Investment Management Position on Coal

Extreme weather events in Canada have increased by a factor of five over the past 30 years and insured losses from natural disasters have more than quadrupled. The average number of billion-dollar disasters per year in the U.S. has increased by a factor of four since the 1980s*. Intact Financial Corporation (IFC), Intact Investment Management Inc.’s parent company, has been on the front lines of climate change with its customers for over a decade and has seen first-hand the devastating impacts. But this is not an issue isolated to the insurance industry – it’s a societal one and we believe it is essential that everyone adapts to climate change. The insurance industry, brokers, government and non-government partners must work together to build adaptation and resilience measures.

As risk managers and investors, we have a role to help protect society and improve resiliency. We apply an Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) lens on our investment activities and as of 2020, we have adopted the following position on thermal coal-related investments:

Intact Investment Management (IIM) will assess the transition plan of all companies in our investment universe that:

• Generate more than 25% of their revenue from thermal coal mining

• Derive more than 25% of their energy generation, revenue, or net income from thermal coal

Existing holdings, either in our portfolios and benchmarks, that exceed the threshold are evaluated based on their energy transition plan, including, but not limited to the assessments of their public disclosure, targets, emission reduction initiatives and investments. We will divest from companies that do not have a satisfactory plan. We will continue to evaluate and adapt our thresholds over time.

* Smith, Adam B. 2010-2019: A Landmark Decade of U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters: NOAA Climate.gov. 8 Jan. 2020,
www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2010-2019-landmark-decade-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate.