Aviva sets target for net zero carbon footprint by 2040

Asset manager tells 30 biggest carbon dioxide emitters in its portfolio to set net zero goals

Aviva has become the first leading insurer worldwide to set a target to shrink its carbon footprint to net zero by 2040, a decade earlier than most banks.

The firm, one of the UK's top asset managers with 300bn of investments under management, said it had written to the 30 biggest CO₂ emitters in its portfolio, comprising companies in the oil and gas, utilities and mining sectors, asking them to sign up to the science-based targets aligned to the Paris climate agreement and to set net zero emission goals with fixed deadlines of 12 to 36 months.