Allianz UK names first Head of Sustainability

UK insurance firm Allianz has appointed Bethany Thomas in the newly created role of Head of Sustainability to develop and implement a sustainability strategy across all business segments in the country.

Thomas has spent her entire career at Allianz in a diversity of roles from underwriter to executive assistant to business manager to the CEO, a position where she oversaw projects, governance, reporting and strategy.

She became Head of Sustainability in October 2023, reporting to Chief Financial Officer Ulf Lange, but Allianz just announced her appointment on July 26. 

“I’m very happy to announce Bethany as our new head of sustainability,” said Lange. “She has extensive knowledge of our business and a global network to ensure that we are sharing and driving best practice. She will be able to utilise this technical knowledge, alongside a genuine passion for the topic, to be a trusted business advisor while also bringing our employees along on the journey with us, as an insurer and employer.”

According to him, the creation of the Head of Sustainability role “signals our aligned approach across all parts of our UK business and maximises the opportunities we can create for ourselves, our brokers and our customers”.

Thomas works closely with Allianz Group in Germany (which manages around €737 billion on behalf of insurance customers) to help deliver the company’s target to achieve net zero across investments and underwriting portfolios by 2050, as part of the UN-backed Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance.

By 2030, Allianz Group has also committed to increase climate solutions investments by at least €20 billion, cut its corporate portfolio emissions by 50% compared to 2019 and decrease operational emissions by 70%.

As Allianz UK Head of Sustainability, Thomas is also tasked with building employee engagement and understanding of the topic of sustainability at an individual and business level, and supporting customers and brokers in their own net zero transition.