Some thoughts from Shaun Atton, Business Support Director, Auto Windscreens.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is critical to every person and every industry, including businesses in the supply chain. Sustainability, diversity, inclusion and community and charitable support should be a priority for every company, because it’s the right thing to do. It will have a bearing on everything we do now and in the future.
Climate change is a real and present danger, which can be seen and felt now with the more frequent weather events, milder winters and hotter summers. It’s just not affecting how we live life but also how we go about business, and is impacting claims trends.
We think the biggest risk is to do nothing, and companies in our sector need to lead the way to net zero. There’s no doubt it’s high on the national and market agenda in 2022 – if you followed coverage of the COP27 UN summit in Egypt, you’ll know a landmark deal was struck by nearly 200 countries to launch a fund to support nations worst-hit. I kept a close eye on proceedings, since as Business Support Director for Auto Windscreens, I’m spearheading our sustainability journey.
It’s companies like ours who are dealing with a carbon intense product and working together with insurers who can make a difference. There’s big and small things we can all do to work towards reducing our impact on the environment and in many areas, the work to reduce carbon emissions is leading to a more cost-effective solution and ROI. This includes minimising and offsetting carbon emissions (we’ve been carbon neutral since 2017), looking at the environmental impact of buildings and removing fossil fuel heating and switching to more energy-efficient LED lighting.
We can introduce more electric and hybrid vehicles where possible (we are on target to have 17% of our fleet electric by the end of 2026 and 100% electric by the end of 2035), gain environmental certifications and evaluate suppliers to ensure they are aligned with environmental aims (we have introduced a supply chain charter to ensure we’re working with ethical companies and those on the same journey as ourselves).
Most importantly, companies can commit to the Science Based Targets initiative Net-Zero Standard (we did so this year and our target is to be net zero – when the amount of greenhouse gas we add is no more than the amount taken away – by 2045).
Those investing in ESG are also working to educate themselves, their suppliers and customers, to find the best practices and share knowledge on how we can better work together and operate in a way which uses less carbon in the whole supply chain.
Day-to-day work in terms of looking after our customers looks much the same as it’s always done for us, but we’re proud to have an ESG focus and a better awareness of the impact we have on the world around us. We think this sets us apart in the industry and gives us an edge, as well as the peace of mind that sustainability is at the forefront of our decision-making and everything we do.
So how important is ESG to the supply chain? It’s vital – the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard classifies a company’s emissions into three ‘scopes’. Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions. These often represent a company’s biggest greenhouse gas impact, so the success of an insurer’s ESG strategy will depend on each and every link in the supply chain, and what each business is doing to mitigate their impact. In today’s world, it’s true there’s always more that can be done, but much can be done by many, and supply chains will play a key role in the sustainability success of the insurance industry.
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