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Safeguarding our environment

We care about our environmental impact

ENVIRONMENT

As a UK insurer our environmental footprint is small in comparison to many other businesses.

We continue to monitor our energy efficiency and waste management across all of our offices and look to ensure that any business travel only takes place when necessary.

During 2022, our energy consumption totalled 3,140,207 kWh (2021: 3,038,571 kWh), while our greenhouse gas emissions totalled 317 tCO2e (2021: 270 tCO2e). This usage has generated reported intensity ratios for the year of:

  • Annual KWh per No. of FTE Employees 2,539 (2021: 2,178)
  • Annual tCO2e per No. of FTE Employees 0.26 (2021: 0.19)

The increase in energy consumption and emissions during 2022 was mainly due to the increased levels of business travel during the year, as our colleagues returned to our offices following two years of predominantly working from home. Although business travel has increased from 2021 levels, we are pleased that travel during 2022 was restricted to approximately 30% of pre-pandemic levels. We replaced halogen bulbs with low energy LED bulbs to save energy and we installed sensors in our offices which work by detecting motion or heat, which ensures lighting isn't left on when it's not needed. Energy saving initiatives, such as this have led to a year-on-year reduction in the energy usage and emissions associated with our buildings. 

  • Definitions:

kWh: Kilowatt-hour 
We report our energy consumption using kWh, a standard measure of energy.

tCO2e: Tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent
We report our greenhouse gas emissions using tCO2e, a standard measure of greenhouse gas emissions.

Further details relating to the sources of our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions

Source of Energy and Emissions Energy consumption (KWh) Greenhouse gas emissions (tCO2e)*
  2022 2021 2022 2021
Combustion of natural gas
 989,809 1,039,532 181 190
Combustion of fuel in company vehicles
 286,593 110,170 71 27
Combustion of other fuels*** 120,218 159,102 29 47
Scope 1 total 1,396,620 1,308,804 281 264
Generation of purchased electricity 1,596,837 1,707,660 309 363
Renewable electricity n/a n/a (309) (363)
Scope 2 total 1,596,837 1,707,660 - -
Combustion of fuel in personal vehicles 146,750 22,107 36 6
Scope 3 total 146,750 22,107 36 6
Total 3,140,207 3,038,571 317 270
Intensity per No. of FTE Employees 2,539 2,178 0.26 0.19
Carbon offsets purchased n/a n/a (1,071)  -

Source of Energy and Emissions Energy consumption (KWh) Greenhouse gas emissions (tCO2e)*
  2022 2021 2022 2021
Combustion of natural gas
 989,809 1,039,532 181 190
Combustion of fuel in company vehicles
 286,593 110,170 71 27
Combustion of other fuels*** 120,218 159,102 29 47
Scope 1 total 1,396,620 1,308,804 281 264
Generation of purchased electricity 1,596,837 1,707,660 309 363
Renewable electricity n/a n/a (309) (363)
Scope 2 total 1,596,837 1,707,660 - -
Combustion of fuel in personal vehicles 146,750 22,107 36 6
Scope 3 total 146,750 22,107 36 6
Total 3,140,207 3,038,571 317 270
Intensity per No. of FTE Employees 2,539 2,178 0.26 0.19
Carbon offsets purchased n/a n/a (1,071)  -

*Energy consumption and emission metrics reported in the Annual Report are restricted to sources where we are supplied directly with gas, electricity or fuel for business purposes. These metrics do not include the energy consumption or emissions associated with indirect usage, for example by homeworkers or travel by train or airline.

**We have used the 2022 UK government greenhouse gas conversion factors for company reporting within our methodologies.

***Other fuels relate to a diesel generator which was used in the period and types of Fluorinated gases (F gas) used by our facilities team to top up gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems.

We’re carbon negative

This means that we’ve calculated our carbon emissions and offset 110% of our total emissions which has supported worthwhile projects.

Voted for by our colleagues in 2022, we supported the following projects:  

  • Amazon rainforest deforestation prevention
  • Wildlife sanctuary preservation
  • Improved cook stoves project

We will continue to maintain our carbon negative status, that we achieved during 2022, and work to identify and implement environmental improvement initiatives to further lower our carbon footprint. 

Achieving carbon negative status is just the beginning of our environmental journey

We'll continue to maintain our status and work to identify and implement environmental improvement initiatives to lower our carbon footprint further and reduce reliance on offsetting.

We’re proud of what we’ve done so far to safeguard the environment and we have ambitions to further strengthen our approach. 

During 2023, we will fall within the scope of the Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022, which place requirements on certain publicly quoted companies and large private companies to incorporate Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned climate disclosures in their annual reports.

In order to comply with these requirements, our 2023 Annual Report will contain a Non-Financial and Sustainability Information statement within the Strategic Report, rather than the current Non-Financial Information statement. This statement will contain information which will allow the reader to understand our governance, strategy, risk management and metrics and targets in relation to environmental matters. 

You can read more about the requirements for 2023 and the progress we’ve made against these during 2022 in the Annual Report. 

Documents

Safeguarding our environment information can be found in our Annual Report