UN Environment’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI), the largest collaborative initiative between the UN and the insurance industry, and ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability, the leading global network of more than 1,500 cities, towns and regions, have joined forces to create the largest collaboration between the insurance industry and cities. Before 2016 ended, ICLEI signed the Principles for Sustainable Insurance and became a PSI supporting institution.

For 2017, the PSI and ICLEI are looking to carry out the following initial collaborative activities:

• A PSI-ICLEI webinar series on how the insurance industry—as risk managers, risk carriers, and investors—can work together with local governments in building sustainable and resilient cities.
• A PSI-ICLEI insurance industry and cities summit—the first of its kind—integrated into ICLEI’s 2017 Resilient Cities Congress from 4-6 May in Bonn, Germany. The outcomes of this summit could benefit other key events, such as the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, which will be held from 22-25 May in Cancun, Mexico.

For more information, please read UNEP FI’s Butch Bacani’s blog on this new collaboration, and the potential for a new urban agenda.