RSA and the Environment
We are working to reduce the impact of our operations and integrate environmental considerations throughout the business, including in product development.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our buildings and travel is a high priority and we are also targeting reductions in water use and waste.
Our partnership with WWF aims to encourage customers to adopt more environmentally-friendly behaviour and promote greater environmental awareness with our employees.
If you want to find out more about our about our approach and performance, see our 2011 CR report.
Strategy and Approach
Our environmental strategy is to:
- Measure and report our CO2 emissions and other impacts;
- Set targets for reducing them;
- Improve energy efficiency, waste disposal, travel impacts and resource use in our buildings and daily operations;
- Offset remaining CO2 emissions in countries achieving the previous steps; and
- Work with suppliers to improve the environmental footprint of our supply chain.
We have set a long-term Group target for a 40% reduction in gross tonnes CO2 per £m Net Written Premiums by 2020 against 2006 levels. Individual countries set additional targets covering key environmental impacts relevant to their circumstances.
Our carbon management strategy includes purchasing renewable energy and carbon offsets, as well as reducing energy and fuel use. Group head office and Danish headquarters use 100% renewable energy and our UK and Ireland operations have been carbon neutral since 2006 and 2008 respectively.
Performance highlights
- We reduced gross CO2 emissions per £m net written premiums by 35% since 2006 and putting us firmly on track to achieve our target 40% reduction by 2020).
- In 2010, over 67% of our environmental targets (including all UK targets) were met with good progress in most of the remaining areas.
Energy and Emissions
Our biggest impact is the carbon dioxide emissions from energy we use in our offices, especially emissions from electricity. Emissions from travel are significant and come mostly from cars, but air travel has grown because of the Group’s growing international presence. Almost half Group emissions are in the UK, where combined heat and power and other lower-carbon sources provide half the electricity we use.
Our carbon management strategy includes purchasing renewable energy and carbon offsets, as well as reducing energy and fuel use. Group head office and Danish headquarters use 100% renewable energy and our UK and Ireland operations have been carbon neutral since 2006 and 2008 respectively.
Other Impacts
Cutting consumption of water and other resources, including waste, helps reduce demands on the environment as well as saving money. It also helps reduce emissions because of the energy involved in producing materials such as paper, providing clean water and managing waste.
As an office based organisation, paper is the main resource we consume. We are saving paper in several ways, including communication with customers and shareholders electronically. We are also increasing the amount of recycling