Definity Financial's acquisition of Travelers' Canadian operations will force the insurer to rebase its climate footprint and re-examine its 2030 emissions target after a near doubling of the business, according to Brendan Seale (pictured), assistant vice president and head of ESG at Definity. The target is not new: Definity's climate ambition, including interim goals for 2025 and 2030, was established in 2021 and communicated to the market in early 2022.
The $3.3 billion deal, which closed on January 2, 2026, brings “substantially all” of Travelers’ Canadian business – including the Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company – under the Definity umbrella.
For Seale, the acquisition is as much an operational and data exercise as it is a strategic one, as Definity re-runs its baselines and validates its interim targets to set the right rate and pace of change for the newly combined company's footprint on its path to net zero. In 2025, Definity achieved a 36% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions against its 2019 baseline, ahead of its interim 30% target.
The transaction significantly expands Definity’s personal and commercial operations and brings in roughly 1,400 employees along with additional office locations and fleet vehicles.
None of that growth is reflected in Definity’s latest sustainability report, as the Travelers deal closed just after the reporting period and the acquired business is excluded from the 2025 disclosure. “You’ll really see the impact of that reflected in the 2026 report that we’ll issue next year,” he said.
Definity met its previous emissions goal in 2025, helped in part by office consolidation during the COVID period, and its next milestone is a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 – part of the climate ambition it set in 2021. Over the coming year, Seale said, the focus will be on incorporating the Travelers operations into Definity’s emissions baseline and then testing whether the existing interim commitments remain appropriate for the enlarged group, adjusting them if the consolidated data shows that is necessary.
Operationally, he pointed to Definity’s buildings portfolio and vehicle fleet as the main levers available to cut Scope 1 and 2.
“If you’re looking at scope one and two emissions in particular, the levers that we really need to pull on in the coming years would be continued operational efficiencies in our buildings – both owned and leased – and also our fleet,” Seale said. “If you look at the fuel consumption associated with fleet vehicles, that’s something that we’ll need to manage the emissions profile of in time as well.”
Definity has already tested electric and plug‑in hybrid vehicles with claims adjusters and other fleet users and is now extending these vehicles into its broader fleet strategy. Seale said the plan is to replace existing vehicles with plug‑in hybrids or full EVs as leases come up for renewal, where roles and infrastructure make that practical.
Battery‑electric vehicles fit best where staff mostly operate in cities and can charge at home or in urban networks, he noted.
“A full battery electric vehicle could be appropriate for someone who is mostly commuting within an urban environment regularly, lots of short distances, and can readily charge, even at home,” he said.
For adjusters who routinely travel longer distances, especially into areas with limited charging infrastructure, Seale said plug‑in hybrids will remain the more practical choice. They can operate on battery power for day‑to‑day driving close to home, but still rely on a conventional fuel tank for extended trips, avoiding the range constraints of a pure battery‑electric vehicle.
Definity's fleet strategy aims to transition all vehicles to plug-in hybrids by 2029, with EV pilots to follow from 2028.
Seale said Definity treats its emissions reduction goals as firm, standalone commitments. The distinction, he said, is that its sustainability function – housed within the corporate strategy office – works to integrate ESG considerations broadly across the business rather than pursuing those goals in isolation.
“I lead our sustainability group within the corporate strategy office,” he said. “We’re working to meaningfully incorporate sustainability considerations across the business lines and the support functions to try and make a more resilient business, but also drive more resilient and equitable outcomes for our clients and our communities as well.”
For now, he said, the Travelers acquisition underlines how dynamic those climate commitments need to be as the business evolves.
“We will need to… consolidate all of that information into our baselining,” Seale said. “You’ll really see the impact of [the Travelers deal] reflected in the 2026 report.”
