Get to know the Reflections of our CEO on Corporate Responsibility.
Gonzalo Alberto Pérez Rojas, CEO Grupo SURA
Sustainability
Sustainability, purpose of our strategy
The development of the company and society is only sustainable, in the long term, if it is harmonious. If it allows society, as a whole, and the parties involved to increase their well-being.
At Grupo SURA we understand sustainability as the ability to rethink, anticipate, ask ourselves the right questions and manage risks to face the challenges of a competitive environment, in this way we contribute to the harmonious development of society, based on our corporate principles.
We are sustainable when we are useful and relevant to society; when our proposal promotes the competitiveness of organizations and the well-being of people; when we maximize the generation of value for our stakeholders. We achieve this with coherence between what we are, what we declare and what we do, thus we grow responsibly to remain in time.
Sustainability has been present since our beginnings as an insurance company. This explains the vision and philosophy that its leaders have had regarding the way in which corporate responsibility should be assumed and its link with corporate sustainability. Since its creation, our Company has been conceived as a form of social organization with a great mobilizing capacity to build better contexts, where the social, environmental and economic spheres are favored. To this end, the Organization has focused on ethical, comprehensive and consistent management of its businesses, first in Colombia and now in Latin America.
Our goal: sustainable profitability
In addition to recognizing the relevance of creating value with a return higher than the cost of capital, at Grupo SURA we understand that this return only makes sense in the long term if the management of the portfolio and the relationship with the environment contribute to a harmonious development of society. Therefore, our approach is based on the conscious management of capital.
Social capital
We participate and seek to strengthen human and institutional networks, based on shared norms, values and understandings to create trust and work in an articulated manner for common goals.
Human capital
We enable in people the skills and knowledge that favor, from flexibility and diversity, the full development of being and its potential to generate value for the company, stakeholders and society.
Natural capital
By making use of ecosystem services for our operation and enabling their use (through insurance, credit and investments), we promote the responsible transition of our operation and that of the portfolio companies to ensure sustainability and contribute to regeneration of this capital.
Financial capital
We manage the financial resources, coming from shareholders and creditors, the compliance and in this way we seek the fulfillment of our objective of sustainable profitability.
Global initiatives
A sustainable society is only possible if we are committed to its harmonious development. For Grupo SURA, being part of various global initiatives allows us to permanently evaluate the management of our Companies against best practices and thus increase our positive impact for Latin America.
Sustainable Development Goals
Our business strategy and action model are articulated with the Sustainable Development Goals approved by the UN. As a company in the financial services sector, we particularly contribute to the fulfillment of SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth. However, we prioritize six where our performance has the greatest impact:
Voluntary global initiatives
We are committed to the implementation of responsible practices that positively impact the territories in which we have a presence. In this way we also contribute to the harmonious development of society.
In 2009 we adhered to the United Nations Global Compact.
Our subsidiary Suramericana adopts the Principles of Sustainable Insurance, promoted by UNEP-FI since 2016.
Our subsidiary SURA Asset Management and its main Companies have been signatories to the Principles of Responsible Investment since 2019.
We have been part of UN Women since 2019.
Reporting standards
Publicly reporting our economic, environmental and social impacts is a commitment that we assume responsibly. To do this, we use three frames of reference:
Rating agencies and sustainability standards
At Grupo SURA we annually manage, and directly, six ratings that allow us to evaluate our environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance. Participating in these evaluations is an opportunity to understand what we are doing well and what we can do better to contribute to the harmonious development of Latin America.
For Grupo SURA the materiality analysis is the route that allows us to recognize, diagnose and prioritize the economic, environmental, social, and corporate governance issues that our company must manage, based on the financial service´s sector in which it operates, as well as its stakeholders’ vision, and the impact that these matters have on the strategy and risk management.
This analysis allows us to:
Enrich the strategy with a prospective look by identifying the most relevant work focuses for the company in the coming years.
Make visible and manage risks, impacts and opportunities, and define focused management and monitoring strategies.
Strengthen the relationship with interest groups.
Methodology
Capital market
Management and development of the financial market for access to capital and understanding of the transformation of the financial industry.
Climate change
Management of climate-related risks and opportunities arising from actual or potential physical and transitional impacts. It includes how the company adapts and incorporates climatic variables in its management.
Capital allocation
Allocate and invest the financial resources of the Company efficiently and maximizing the generation of value.
Shareholder value
Generate profitability above the cost of capital and contribute to the harmonious development of society.
Responsible investment and financing
Consider, in addition to financial criteria, environmental, social, and governance issues when making investment and financing decisions.
ESG management
Our environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance is evaluated annually by six international rating agencies. The results are an opportunity to understand what we are doing well and what we can do better to continue contributing to the harmonious development of Latin America.
Our ratings
| ESG rating agency | Highest rating | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| FTSE | 5 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| ISS ESG | A+ | C | C | C |
| MSCI | AAA | BB | BBB | BBB |
| SUSTAINALYTICS | 100 | 43.3 | 47.1 | 47.6 |
| S&P | 100 | 73 | 82 | 80 |
For Grupo SURA, being included in various global sustainability indices does not represent an end, rather it is a recognition that demonstrates the Company’s efforts to make sustainability a substantial element of the corporate strategy.
Our strengths
Social management
framed in a clear social investment strategy, with thematic lines, which allows for a long-term vision by focusing its efforts on developing the capacities of various communities.
Human development programs
based on a skills model and long-term incentives that strengthen the retention and attraction of talent.
Management of sustainable finances
with a focus on human rights and climate change.
Ethics and corporate governance system
where practices such as: code of conduct applicable to the entire business group, outsourced reporting channel and anti-crime policies for the prevention of money laundering and corruption stand out.
Our challenges
Strengthen the diversity strategy.
Strengthen environmental management in the current context.
Advance in the measurement of financed emissions and the quantification of financial risks derived from climate change.
Integrate trends to the transformation of the organization.