At UN Environment, Butch Bacani leads the development and implementation of the global strategy and work programme of the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) Initiative. The PSI is a global framework and initiative to strengthen the insurance industry’s contribution—as risk managers, risk carriers and investors—to building resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities and economies. Endorsed by the UN Secretary-General and insurance CEOs, the PSI was launched at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and is the largest collaborative initiative between the UN and the insurance industry.

Butch is leading PSI activities supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Together with UN Environment’s Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System, he is leading the creation of the Sustainable Insurance Forum for Supervisors. Butch led the global research, consultation and drafting process that produced the PSI. From 2006-10, he led UN Environment’s global insurance and investment programmes, including activities with the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment. Butch has authored pioneering studies, including the first global sustainability survey of the insurance industry, global research and insurance industry statements on climate change and disaster risk management, and a legal roadmap on fiduciary duty and responsible investment. Prior to the UN, he was in the insurance industry for over a decade, working with leading insurers and reinsurers worldwide.