Ping An Releases 2023 Sustainability Report

HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An", the "Company" or the "Group", HKEX: 2318 / 82318; SSE: 601318) has published the "Ping An Sustainability Report 2023: Together With Hope" (hereafter "the Report"). The Report highlights the Group's innovation and practices in sustainable development in 2023 in five areas, including sustainable development and strategy management, sustainable business, sustainable operations and community, sustainable governance and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report. This is the 15^th consecutive year Ping An has released a sustainability report.

Sustainable development is one of Ping An's development strategies and the basis for maximizing the Group's long-term value. Ping An continues to focus on addressing customer needs, developing the "integrated finance + healthcare and elderlycare" strategy, improving corporate governance and risk management and control mechanisms, pursuing green and low-carbon development, and contributing to China's "dual-carbon" goals – to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. The Group is committed to creating robust and sustainable long-term value for customers, employees, shareholders and society.

10 highlights of Ping An's sustainable development in 2023

1. Marking 12 consecutive years of cash dividend increases and introducing performance metrics that link sustainability performance to senior management pay. Ping An continuously adopts the world's best corporate governance practices, aiming to set an example in corporate governance and provide stable returns to shareholders. In 2023, the Group distributed full-year cash dividend RMB2.43 per share, up 0.4% year-on-year, with the total dividend increasing for 12 consecutive years. Since 2012, the cumulative total dividend surpassed RMB300 billion. To drive comprehensive internal ESG management, Ping An includes compliant operation indicators, risk management indicators, economic efficiency indicators, and social responsibility indicators in its performance appraisal mechanism. Among all, the key performance indicators of sustainable development issues such as rural revitalization and green finance have been incorporated into the Group's senior management pay linked to sustainability.
   
   
2. Facilitated green development and increased green insurance premium income by 49% year-on-year. Ping An is committed to supporting economic development, social progress and environmental improvement with comprehensive and professional risk protection. As of the end of December 2023, Ping An's total sustainable insurance premium income reached RMB 557.725 billion, up 2% compared to the end of 2022. In particular, green insurance premium income amounted to RMB37,296 million, up 49% year-on-year. The scale of Ping An's responsible banking business was approximately RMB1.21 trillion and the compound annual growth rate in the last three years reached 35%. In particular, the green loan balance reached RMB146,345 million, representing a year-on-year growth of nearly 26%.
   
   
3. Continued to serve society, improving accessibility and inclusivity of financial services. Ping An leverages its integrated finance advantages, proactively expanding its rural network channels and is dedicated to delivering financial services to residents in rural and county regions. As of the end of December 2023, Ping An Group operated 59,303 financial service reach of points across the country. Ping An Property & Casualty (P&C) provided over 2.29 million small and micro enterprises with comprehensive risk protection totaling more than RMB 200 trillion and processed more than 1.68 million claims worth more than RMB 3.2 billion. The scale of Ping An's inclusive banking business reached RMB718.7 billion, offering loan services to more than 1.03 million small and micro-businesses.
   
   
4. Delivered on responsible investment strategy and fully incorporated ESG factors into investment decisions. The Group has fully integrated ESG factors into the entire investment decision-making process for its insurance funds. As of December 31, 2023, the total amount of responsible investment of insurance funds reached RMB725.3 billion. More than 83% of the assets in the Group's insurance fund investment portfolio were managed by asset managers that are UN PRI signatories. Among them, green investment reached RMB128.6 billion, a 19% increase compared to the same period last year.
   
   
5. Maintained commitment to green operations, with 14% year-on-year reduction in carbon emissions. In 2023, Ping An launched China's first carbon account system in the insurance industry, which covers all employees. The system tracks and records each employee's low-carbon behaviors at work and in daily life, and individual carbon emissions. This system allows for the comprehensive assessment and management of carbon emissions. As of the end of December 2023, Ping An's employee carbon account system included a total of 494,500 carbon reduction actions and achieved a reduction in carbon emissions of close to 18,000 tons. In 2023, Ping An's total greenhouse gas emissions in its operation was more than 420,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO₂e), a decrease of nearly 14% year-on-year; per capita emissions were 1.35 tCO₂e, a 5.6% decrease year-on-year.
   
   
6. Implemented its healthcare and elderlycare ecosystem strategy, providing customers with "worry-free, time-saving, and money-saving" health and elderlycare services. With the ongoing trend of population aging in China, Ping An continues to deepen its "integrated finance + healthcare and elderlycare" strategy. While providing traditional insurance protection, it integrates the responsibility of integrating healthcare and elderlycare service resources and managing customer health, to provide customers with the best cost-effective healthcare and elderlycare services. As of the end of December 2023, nearly 64% of Ping An's 232 million retail customers also used services provided by the healthcare and elderlycare ecosystem, with customers entitled to service benefits from the ecosystem accounted for more than 73% of Ping An Life's new business value (NBV).
   
   
7. Invested in development and welfare of employees and agents and achieved an employee satisfaction score of 87/100. Ping An offered 375 training courses for employees at all levels. In 2023, the average training duration per person in the Group reached 45.1 hours. Ping An has put in place long-term incentive and restraint mechanisms and implemented the Key Employee Share Purchase Plan and the Long-term Service Plan. As of the end of December 2023, a total of 103,232 employees participated in the Core Personnel Stock Ownership Plan and Long-Term Service Plan, a coverage rate of 36%. The Group has established a diversified workforce, with women comprising 42% of senior management and 51% of its employees. Ping An received an overall satisfaction score of 87/100 in its 2023 employee satisfaction survey, an increase from 2022.
   
   
8. Enhanced consumer protection and experience, and improved the Group's net promoter score (NPS) for the third consecutive year: In terms of customer service, Ping An maintains a specialized service hotline 95511, with an average daily consultation of about 2.12 million people in 2023. The Group upgraded the customer experience through a smart claims process, with the fastest process taking only 20 seconds to complete the report and the average claim application only taking 10 minutes; The Group also conducted an annual audit in 2023 on consumer protection, focusing on the review of system construction, mechanism and operation, operation and service, education and publicity, dispute settlements and other aspects. Ping An has achieved a NPS of 59 in 2023, representing three consecutive years of growth.
   
   
9. Improved information security and AI governance, certificated by ISO/IEC 27001/27701 with a 100% approval rate of annual certifications. Ping An constantly improves its information security management system to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. In 2023, Ping An completed 59 security emergency drills with its member companies, covering nine emergency drill scenarios such as dealing with ransomware, anti-DDOS attacks and phishing emails. Ping An also carried-out database backup and recovery drills and the cross-regional joint disaster recovery drills, effectively consolidating the Group's emergency response capability for information security. In 2023, Ping An provided more than 50 information security training and education sessions for all employees and related third party personnel, covering terminal security, data security and office security.
   
   
10. Actively fulfilled social responsibilities and strengthened community impact: Ping An launched its "Rural Communities Support Program" in 2018 to support rural revitalization. In 2023, it offered RMB40.729 billion in industrial revitalization assistance funds. As of the end of 2023, the cumulative funding for industrial revitalization was RMB117.9 billion. The Group has also assisted the construction of 119 Ping An Hope primary schools across the country, and the number of volunteers from Ping An employees and agents has surpassed 500,000. In 2023, the Ping An Volunteer Teaching Action program recruited 1,167 volunteers, trained more than 100 seeded instructors and rural teachers, and awarded scholarships amounting to RMB 602,000 awarded to 396 students.

Technology-driven sustainable development

Ping An widely utilizes the leading technological capabilities to empower its main financial businesses, achieving cost reduction, efficiency improvement and promotes sustainable development. In 2023, Ping An achieved a total gross premium of RMB300.3 billion through customers' self-service insurance renewals with AI guidance, an increase of 13% year-on-year; AI service representatives provided customer service about 2.22 billion times. Ping An P&C's Disaster Risk System (DRS 2.0) and catastrophe emergency service platform developed by provides strong technological support for disaster mitigation. The system covers eight kinds of disaster risk maps, including typhoons and rainstorms, and 15 disaster early warnings. In 2023, Ping An issued 572,000 warnings about the potential impact of typhoons, rainstorms, floods and other disasters and sent 8.57 billion early warning messages, covering 87.04 million individuals and enterprises, and provided on-site hazard investigation and other services for more than 52,000 customers.

Sustainable supply chain

Ping An integrated ESG requirements into its closed supply chain management, from selection and verification, management and integrity to tracking and feedback, and focuses on suppliers' ESG performance in aspects of information security, employee rights and interests, and environmental protection. Ping An has added ESG requirements to existing supplier contracts, including information security and privacy protection, low-carbon and green technology transformation and development, labor rights protection and employee development, 100% of supplier contracts have included sustainability requirements. In 2023, Ping An provided targeted education on ESG management requirements and ESG risk practice for suppliers, with annual training coverage of 100%. The Group eliminated 393 suppliers due to failure to meet sustainable development and other requirements.

Industry leadership

Ping An continues to leverage its influence in sustainable development in the industry as well as strengthen internal management. In 2023, Ping An Group participated in the formulation of two industry-wide ESG standards: 1) the self-regulatory Green Insurance Classification Guidelines (2023 Edition) covering green insurance products, green investment of insurance funds and green operation of insurance companies and 2) the Guidance for Disclosure of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Information for Insurance Institutions. The latter is the first domestic self-regulatory document for enhancing ESG disclosure frameworks and content in the insurance industry. Furthermore, Ping An became the first asset owner signatory from Chinese to the UN Principles For Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and the first company in Chinese mainland to sign the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) and Climate Action 100+.

In 2023, Ping An maintained "A" in MSCI ESG Ratings and remained No. 1 in the multiline insurance and brokerage industry in the Asia Pacific region. The Group was also awarded Top 1% of Chinese Companies in the S&P Global ESG Score by S&P's Sustainability Yearbook (China) 2023. Ping An has also received a "Low Risk" ESG Risk Rating from Sustainalytics, ranked #1 in Mainland China's insurance sector. 

The sustainability report was compiled in accordance with the Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Guide of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and with reference to the Guidelines on Environmental Information Disclosure for Financial Institutions in Shenzhen, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards, Guidelines on Environmental Information Disclosure for Financial Institutions issued by Insurance Association of China, as well as the Sustainability Accounting Standards on Commercial Banks, Insurance and Asset Management & Custody Activities published by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants (LLP) has carried out an independent third-party assurance on the Report. To access the full report, please click here.

About Ping An Group

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (HKEx:2318 / 82318; SSE:601318) strives to become a world-leading integrated finance and healthcare services provider. With 232 million retail customers, Ping An is one of the largest financial services companies in the world. Under the technology-driven "integrated finance + healthcare" strategy, Ping An provides professional "financial advisory, family doctor, and elderlycare concierge" services. Ping An advances intelligent digital transformation and employs technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of its financial businesses and enhance risk management. The Group is listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai. As of the end of 2023, Ping An had RMB11,583,417 million in total assets. The Group ranked 16^th in the Forbes Global 2000 list in 2023 and ranked 33^rd in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2023.

For more information, please visit www.group.pingan.com and follow us on LinkedIn - PING AN.

source: Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.