AXA

Does the core business genuinely avoid or reduce emissions, or build climate resilience? Share of revenue that is actually 'green'. Fossil-dependent models score low.

AXA's core impact is indirect: as an insurer and asset manager it channels capital and risk capacity, not emissions directly; its investment portfolio's Implied Temperature Rise stands at 2.2°C — equal to the market average — and AXA XL is still named by NGOs as underwriting LNG terminals and fossil fuel infrastructure, materially limiting its real-economy impact score.

Credible, science-based targets (SBTi), a real net-zero plan with progress to date, and CDP disclosure — not just a dated press release.

AXA has quantified interim targets (50% carbon-intensity reduction in investments by 2030 vs. 2019; operational Scope 1&2 cuts aligned with SBTi guidelines; coal exit by 2030 in OECD), exceeded its first-phase 2025 investment target early (35% reduction by end-2022 against a 20% goal), and discloses annual progress — but formal SBTi validation of group-level targets for financial institutions has not been publicly confirmed, and underwriting portfolio scope remains limited to Scope 1&2 of select commercial clients only.

Operational footprint, labour and social practices, and governance quality across the company's own operations and supply chain.

AXA reduced its own operational GHG emissions by 38% between 2019 and 2024, exceeded its water reduction target (49% vs. 10% goal), has a controversial-weapons exclusion policy dating to 2007, publishes a Social Data Report, and runs a Climate Academy for employees; governance is broadly robust under French regulatory standards and CSRD, though the withdrawal from the Net Zero Insurance Alliance in May 2023 was a reputational setback.

Quality of disclosure, independent third-party verification, and how much hard data backs the company's claims.

AXA publishes an annual Climate and Biodiversity Report (since 2016, TCFD-aligned), complies with French Article 173 mandatory climate disclosure, reports annually to CDP, applies ESRS from 2024, and subjects key climate metrics to limited independent assurance — a credible but 'limited' (not reasonable) assurance standard that constrains the verifiability ceiling.

Controversies, litigation, pollution, fossil-fuel lobbying, conflict-zone involvement and governance scandals. Higher means cleaner.

AXA withdrew from the Net Zero Insurance Alliance in May 2023; the 2024 Insure Our Future scorecard noted that AXA's fossil-fuel underwriting commitments 'have stalled since 2023'; activist research documents AXA XL insuring LNG export terminals linked to high methane emissions; and Reclaim Finance flagged that AXA IM continues investing in bonds of major oil and gas developers, creating a material gap between its public net-zero narrative and operational practice.