SIMSBURY, CT – A statewide environmental organization recently visited the Simsbury home of an executive at a Hartford insurance company for a bit of holiday activism.
Climate activists from the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG) and the CT Insure Our Future Coalition paid a visit to Terrence Shields, The Hartford’s new Sustainability Officer, in Simsbury on December 21 to sing Christmas carols on the climate theme.
According to CCAG, the Hartford insurance company has lagged behind leading international insurers in taking significant steps to combat climate risks.
“However, a new chief sustainability officer brings a new opportunity for real climate action,” the group wrote in a statement.
Insure Our Future’s annual scorecard ranks the world’s top 30 insurers according to the quality of their fossil fuel policies.
“In two years, The Hartford has fallen to 17th place, but now, with strong leadership from a new Chief Sustainability Officer, it could become a global climate leader,” CCAG wrote
Climate activists are calling on Shields, The Hartford’s first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer, to step up The Hartford’s climate ambition and ensure the company stops insuring oil and gas expansion and fueling the climate crisis.
“We came to Shield’s home with a message of hope,” said Tom Swan, executive director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group. “His new appointment as Chief Sustainability Officer brings an exciting opportunity for The Hartford in 2023.
“We expect Shields to bring his company to the same level of climate awareness as global insurers and to make The Hartford a leader in climate space in the United States.”
“Shields has been active on the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3), and he knows the importance of this work,” said Angel Serrano, community organizer at the Connecticut Citizen Action Group. “We hope he will initiate the freeze on new oil and gas projects and bring their investment and underwriting policies in line with the Paris Agreement.”
Established in 1971, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group’s mission is to actively engage Connecticut residents in addressing issues of consumer, environmental, economic, and social justice. Visit ccag.net for more information.
Insure Our Future is a global campaign by 24 NGOs and social movements from 14 countries to hold the insurance industry accountable for its role in the climate crisis.
