Renaud Guidée spent 2021 driving a crucial insurance initiative to tackle the climate change crisis, which is widely regarded as the greatest threat facing humanity.

As chair of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), he was instrumental in launching a coalition of re/insurers that have committed to transition their underwriting portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In his words, he has spent the year "stirring up energy and steering it in the right direction".

In addition to chairing the NZIA, Guidée's day job is chief risk officer (CRO) of Axa Group, a role that requires plenty of vitality itself.

Guidée says his dedication to tackling climate change is very much a personal agenda.

"I'm more passionate about the future than about legacy. And obviously, climate change is one of the key drivers shaping our future," he says.

But it's an agenda that is consistent with his role as CRO – and indeed of the insurance industry as a whole – that requires the interests of society to be balanced with the corporate world and commercial relationships.

"We can use the power of capitalism, the firepower of the financial services industry, for the greater good," he asserts.

The NZIA has 21 members at the time of writing based in Africa, Asia and Europe. More are set to join, including some based in the Americas, Guidée says.

Many of those are already members of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, established at the start of 2019.

Guidée describes the formation of the NZIA as a milestone because "it's a recognition that using the liability side of our balance sheet can be a powerful tool to fight climate change".

A key NZIA goal is to develop "a common language" for insurers to reach their shared ambition, he says.

For example, the NZIA has been working with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials to develop a standard for measuring and disclosing insured emissions, which should be published by this summer.

The next major goal is to define a set of metrics that will enable the NZIA to establish a target-setting protocol. The deadline for that is January 2023. Six months later, members are expected to publicly disclose their roadmap and metrics for reaching net zero. Every subsequent year, members will report progress against their metrics.

"There is not one single path to net zero," Guidée explains. "We do not have all the same starting points. So, it's very important that based on our values, portfolios and our respective business models, we can - based on the same language - each write our own book on how to reach net zero."

He adds: "It's really been a breakthrough, a great demonstration of leadership, which also sets the bar very high.

"I'm very happy that we could come up with a set of commitments that were released at the G20 Climate Summit on 11 July 2021. It's a clear ambition that is now enshrined and we have to live up to it."

I ask how much time he spends talking about climate change. He answers a different question: how much time he spends acting on climate. The answer is between 20% and 25%, with the remainder spent on a widening variety of risks.

Chief among these are rising geopolitical tensions.

"The world order is shifting as we speak. You can see that between nations, but also within nations where there are growing challenges to established authority and the rule of law. That's something that could potentially create a lot of instability going forward."

Dealing with the dislocations brought by Covid-19 is another priority, in terms of how it has affected clients, society and the economy.

"If you look at every market, no one has been immune," he says. Labour, goods (supply chains) and financial markets have all been skewed. "The whole economy is not running in its normal mode."

Disruptions to healthcare systems and a growing mental health crisis – a topic that a working group led by Axa has addressed in a December report for the CRO Forum – are other Covid-19 effects that occupy Guidée.

Naturally, financial risks are a top concern. The dramatic pivot in monetary policy by all the major central banks in the last few months means "volatility is back in the game, and we have to manage that given the size of our balance sheet".

Guidée's has not taken the traditional pathway to become a CRO, but his skill sets are evidently suited to the role. His career has spanned working for the French government and as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs: experiences that have taught him to be "humble, nimble and versatile".

"Government affairs teaches you how to jump from one topic to another while always having the public good and public policy objectives in sight."

Meanwhile investment banking brough "an accumulation of intensity, which gives you a lot of experience in diverse challenges," he says.

Ironically, he never touched the insurance industry while working at the bank, but it's sector he is enjoying being immersed in.

"What is great with insurance is that you have a mix of macro and micro. It's about reconciling world affairs, the macro economy and big societal shifts, while simultaneously being in a commercial relationship with customers, making sure we can provide personalised healthcare, financial advice and assistance."

As CRO, "you have to both manage a jumbo balance sheet and risks which could pop up anywhere. And also being on the lookout for the very detail the small blind spot that could balloon and which could derail the whole organisation."

Outside of work Guidée is a father of three and a keen runner, skier and tennis player. If there is a book beside his bed, it's probably on the topic of economics, or a novel.

He also sits on the board of a non-profit organisation called Article 1, which takes its name from the first clause of France's human rights bill: every person has equal rights.

Guidée explains the organisation supports and mentors talented young people from underprivileged backgrounds and low-income families to help them into higher education and reach achievements in line with their potential.

Taking raw energy, and putting it on the path to success... the parallels with the NZIA are impossible to ignore.