Zelda Bentham

Zelda Bentham has worked in Aviva and its legacy companies for over 3 decades, helping create the Environment programme in 1997 and subsequently the Corporate Responsibility programme. She developed Aviva’s climate change and environment strategy and carbon management programme.  In 2006, the Aviva Board published their position on climate change and Aviva became the first operational carbon neutral insurance group on a worldwide basis.  Their carbon offsetting approach has directly improved the lives of over 1 million people since 2012 and was recognised in 2017 by the UNFCCC as a Lighthouse Activity.

Zelda’s focus is on sustainability issues for Aviva as an asset owner, and insurer, working with the Aviva businesses to develop solutions aligned to the four 2015 UN frameworks – particularly Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. She leads on Aviva’s response to the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure and is responsible for the strategic delivery of Aviva’s companywide 2040 Net Zero ambition – including investments, insurance supply chain and operations.  Zelda’s recent focus has been on the production of a ‘first release’ Climate Transition Plan for Aviva, and ‘one year on’ Biodiversity Report following the publication of Aviva’s Biodiversity Policy in November 2021.  In October, Aviva won the Building Public Trust Awards – Best Climate Change Reporting in the FTSE 350 Award for the second year running.

In October, the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA’s) Financial System Benchmark rated Aviva second out of 400 financial services companies globally through the measurement areas of Governance and strategy, Respecting planetary boundaries, and Adhering to societal conventions. They said of Aviva:

“This financial institution is one of the few that is committed to minimising its negative impacts on nature and biodiversity across its financing activities.” Aviva is rated AA according to MSCI ESG scorecard, and ranked 5^th out of 297 insurers in Sustainalytics ESG risk index.

Zelda represents Aviva in respect of UNEP Principles of Sustainable Insurance, and involved in the UN Net Zero Asset Owners and Net Zero Insurance Alliances, and ClimateWise’s Management Committee (the Insurance Sector’s collaborative forum on climate change).