Employee engagement is vital to the success of our environmental initiatives. Many environmental improvements can only be made as a result of each one of us changing our behaviour in some small way. So it is critical that employees understand what we want to achieve and how they can play their part.

In 2007, employee awareness was enhanced by engaging staff in the environmental agenda and explaining the many aspects of environmental management, which resulted in a six-point improvement in our global survey responses to questions covering environmental responsibility.

Our efforts included an environment day as part of the CSR Awareness Week in France, and an Energy Savings Week in the UK, which engaged employees with a host of initiatives and activities, including an opportunity to calculate and offset carbon emissions via a payroll giving option. Similarly, Aviva Group Centre achieved an 8.6% reduction in electricity consumption through simple initiatives such as ‘The Big Switch Off’, in which all non-essential lighting and equipment are turned off at night, and its participation in the 2007 Lights Out London campaign.

Externally, our chief executive officer Andrew Moss participates in the CBI Climate Change Taskforce, which called on government, business and consumers to factor climate change into day-to-day life, and we were co-authors and a founder signatory to the ClimateWise principles, created specifically for insurers. We continue to engage with our employees on this important issue.

Case study

CSR Awareness Week at Aviva France

Aviva France organised its first annual CSR Awareness Week at its headquarters to coincide with the nationwide "semaine du développement durable" from 02 to 06 April 2007.

The aim was to educate employees and encourage them to become further involved in the CSR activities carried out by the company. Five presentations and interactive events were given over the week during lunch-hours in order to allow employees to discover the various ways that Aviva France is involved in CSR. As well as a question and answer session with those working in CSR, topics discussed over the week included:

• the environment
• staff involvement in CSR
• diversity
• the Aviva charitable foundation.