Earth Day 2025: Building Resilience and Bringing Awareness

Western Financial Group’s Aleisha Apang and Cheska Ronquillo answer our questions about the importance of this year’s Earth Day. Tuesday, April 22, 2025, marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Day.

What is Western Financial Group's focus for Earth Day 2025?

Aleisha Apan, Manager of Social Impact: Western Financial Group's focus for Earth Day 2025 is centered around building climate resilience and bringing awareness to the current state of climate change. This year's theme, "Strength in Sustainability: Building Climate Resilience," highlights the importance of empowering communities and individuals to adapt and thrive in the face of climate challenges.

Western is committed to supporting our customers and communities in navigating the impacts of climate vulnerability. By prioritizing the well-being of our People and communities, Western ensures that our Earth Day initiatives align with our core values and stakeholder insights. Our organization is dedicated to educating team members on climate resilience, particularly for rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, to support its customers better.

The current state of climate change in the world underscores the need for action. Climate events such as wildfires, floods, and extreme weather conditions have become increasingly prevalent, affecting millions of lives globally. Through our Earth Day 2025 focus, Western is committed to making a meaningful difference and contributing to a more sustainable and resilient future for all.

Why is it important for Western Financial Group, as part of the insurance industry, to acknowledge and celebrate Earth Day?

Aleisha Apang: Acknowledging and celebrating Earth Day is crucial for the insurance industry, especially given the increasing prevalence of climate events and their significant impacts on communities and businesses. The insurance industry plays a vital role in protecting individuals and businesses from the financial consequences of these events, making it essential to recognize and support initiatives that promote environmental sustainability and climate resilience.

According to IBC Canada, in 2024, the Calgary hailstorm resulted in a $3 billion loss, the Jasper wildfire caused approximately $650 million in losses, and the Quebec floods led to around $190 million in damages. These statistics highlight the significant financial impact of climate events in Canada and the importance of the insurance industry in mitigating these risks and supporting affected communities.

By acknowledging and celebrating Earth Day, Western Financial Group is demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and climate resilience, fostering a culture of environmental stewardship and proactive risk management. This approach not only benefits the environment but also strengthens our ability to protect and support our customers and communities from the adverse effects of climate change.

How does Western Financial Group support sustainability and climate resilience beyond Earth Day?

Cheska Ronquillo, Senior Sustainability Consultant: Our commitment to sustainability and climate resilience extends far beyond Earth Day. We are dedicated to creating lasting positive impacts through empowering knowledge, better understanding our environmental impact, giving back to our communities, and keeping the protection of our People and customers at the top of our minds.

• Empowering Knowledge: Western is dedicated to fostering a culture of sustainability and climate resilience through ongoing education for our team members. By offering Western-developed eModules and collaborating with organizations like Earth Day Canada and The Resilience Institute, we empower our workforce with the knowledge and tools to make a meaningful impact.
• Understanding our Environmental Impact: Western is completing our GHG Inventory, which will enable us to better understand our carbon footprint, environmental impact, and areas for improvement.
• Supporting Western Communities Foundation Initiatives: Through our Western Communities Foundation, we invest in building resilient communities by providing Community Infrastructure Grants and enhancing 'Safe Spaces', which focus on fostering greener, vibrant, and more resilient communities.
• Caring for Our Customers: Prior to and during high-stress situations, often caused by major catastrophic (CAT) events, we provide resources to our customers, branches, and employees throughout CAT season. We also post additional emergency preparedness information on our Community Emergency Resources page and our brokers offer support for customers navigating the claims process after a loss has occurred.

Sustainability and climate resilience are such large, complex issues that it can often feel difficult to truly make a difference at an individual level. What are some ways that individuals can have a positive impact through personal choices and actions?

Cheska Ronquillo: The saying, "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children," has always inspired me as a powerful call to action, reminding us of our responsibility to safeguard the planet for future generations. Individuals can contribute meaningfully to this cause through conscious decisions and thoughtful actions. By embracing mindful consumption—reducing waste and making intentional purchases—and adopting sustainable lifestyle choices, such as improving energy efficiency at home and opting for eco-friendly transportation, everyone can create positive change.

Additionally, individuals should use their purchasing power to support local businesses that champion sustainability. Choosing products and services from companies committed to sustainable action sends a strong message that environmental values should be prioritized.

Together, these personal choices can create a ripple effect demonstrating progress for the planet and generations – one decision at a time.

How does Western Financial Group’s commitment to sustainability create a workplace culture that resonates with your own beliefs and motivations?

Aleisha Apang: Western champions a culture of care that perfectly aligns with my own values and beliefs. Our commitment to sustainability and supporting our People, customers, and communities to adapt to and address the impacts of climate change is inspiring. I feel incredibly proud to work for an organization that acknowledges its role in addressing this complex issue and that is proactively working on not only educating our team members about sustainability, but also empowering our People and our customers to become more resilient in the face of climate events.

Western’s focus on both Sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion also highlight our deep understanding that climate events disproportionately impact equity-deserving groups who often live in areas more vulnerable to climate disasters, have less access to the resources necessary for recovery, and face systemic barriers that hinder their ability to rebuild. Acknowledging and addressing these inequalities is crucial for fostering resilience and ensuring that everyone has the support they need when faced with the impact of a loss due to climate change.

Cheska Ronquillo: Western fosters a workplace culture that celebrates leadership in social impact, encompassing sustainability, diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and community involvement. I am incredibly proud to be part of an organization that empowers me to express my identity, embrace my core beliefs in sustainability and climate equity, and give back to my community throughout the year.

As a Western's Green Team facilitator, I witness firsthand the value of providing team members a platform to participate in sustainability awareness and engagement activities. This nurtures a sense of ownership and reinforces shared purpose among colleagues. Recognizing key sustainability awareness events further underscores Western's commitment to education and action, cultivating a culture where sustainability is celebrated and prioritized.

Collectively, these initiatives create an environment that inspires and motivates, aligning my personal and professional values while driving meaningful change.

Western strives to continue to make a meaningful difference for our team members, customers, and the communities we serve.

Aleisha Apang is the Manager of Social Impact at Western, responsible for leading the development and execution of programs and strategic initiatives related to both Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Sustainability for the organization. Aleisha’s expertise in both these areas of focus enables her to advance Western’s DEI and Sustainability goals through the lens of climate equity.

Cheska Ronquillo is the Senior Sustainability Consultant at Western, leveraging her experience as a professional engineer to lead the data-driven approaches to key sustainability reporting and greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory analysis. Additionally, Cheska leads team member awareness and engagement efforts, fostering a culture of environmental and climate resilience within Western.