Zelda Bentham

Zelda Bentham has worked in Aviva and its legacy companies for nearly 3 decades, helping create the Environment programme in 1997 and subsequently the Corporate Responsibility strategy. She developed Aviva’s climate change and environment strategy and carbon management programme.  In 2006, the Aviva Board published their position on climate change and Aviva became the first carbon neutral insurance group on a worldwide basis.  Their carbon offsetting approach has directly improved the lives of 1 million people since 2012 and was recognised in 2017 by the UNFCCC as a Lighthouse Activity.

Ms Bentham’s focus is on sustainability issues for Aviva as an asset owner, and insurer, working with the Aviva businesses to develop solutions aligned to the four 2015 UN frameworks – particularly Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. She leads on Aviva’s response to the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure and is currently developing Aviva’s 10-year Climate Change Strategy.  Aviva was rated AAA in the 2017 Asset Owners Disclosure Project Global Climate Index.

She represents Aviva in respect of UNEP Principles of Sustainable Insurance, the CBI Energy & Climate Change policy working group, ClimateWise’s Management Committee (the Insurance Sector’s collaborative forum on climate change), and Climate Change Advisory Committee of the G7 Investors’ Global Initiative.