AXA signs the Tobacco Free Finance Pledge

The Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge (TFPP) is an initiative led by Tobacco Free Portfolios (TFP), a global NGO that fights for a tobacco free world by bringing investors to eliminate all of their tobacco assets across the globe. The pledge calls out to all leaders from the private and public authorities, as well as NGOs and international institutions, to join the fight against tobacco.

Divesting from tobacco was a natural move for AXA as a responsible insurer. Indeed, tobacco products are a major threat to public health: today, they kill 6 million people per year, a figure that is expected to rise to 8 million by 2030, mostly in developing countries. Furthermore, tobacco is a net cost to society and there is no safe level of exposure. This is why we started our tobacco free journey with Dr.Bronwyn King, an Australian oncologist who has dedicated her life and work to fight against tobacco and founder of Tobacco-Free Portfolio. It all started in 2016, AXA being among the first companies from the insurance and financial sector to follow Bronwyn’s lead. We decided to divest our tobacco industry assets, valued at approximately 1.8 billion euros.

Today, the pledge is launched with over 100 Founding Signatories and Supporters. They include financial institutions from around the world collectively representing trillions of dollars of capital, including assets under management of over USD 6.2 trillion, corporate loan books of over USD 1.8 trillion and insurance premiums of USD 179 billion.

By co-sponsoring and signing this pledge, we continue to lead by example. We want to encourage other companies and institutions to join the movement and go for a tobacco-free future.