• Introduction
• Progress in 2007
• In practice
• Key priorities for 2008

In practice

Lowering our resource use

As part of our efforts to reduce the resources we consume in our operations, an Energy Savings Week in October engaged Norwich Union employees with a host of initiatives and activities, including the option to offset carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions via a tax-efficient payroll giving scheme. AGS in India and Sri Lanka played its part too, reducing emissions by 5% by removing light bulbs from corridors and areas with sufficient natural light, and adjusting air handling units to be more efficient.

Water use by AGS also fell by 2.5%, helped in part by two projects to harvest rainwater at our Delhi operations. Established in March and July, these have already collected approximately 2.6 million litres of rainwater for reuse in WCs and gardens. Our total water use was 279,000 cubic meters, a 4.8% reduction from the 2006 figure. Of the 5,103 tonnes of paper we used, 84% was used for our marketing and publications, and the remainder was for office use.

Waste management and recycling

We are striving to increase our recycling, aiming for zero waste being sent to landfill by 2015.

Of the 15,932 tonnes of waste generated in 2007, 14,042 tonnes (88%) was recycled, including all our paper waste, up by 28% last year. Of this recycled waste, over 52% (7,302 tonnes) was glass recycled by Auto Windscreens, and more than 20% was waste paper, mainly recycled by Norwich Union and AGS.

Keeping emissions in check

Our efforts to tackle carbon emissions have included an examination of transport use across the organisation, especially as our total UK business fleet grew by 90 vehicles to 4,986 and RAC’s growing membership pushed both fuel consumption (10.5 million litres) and CO₂ emissions (28,180 tonnes) up by more than 15%.

Aware of its impacts and responsibilities in this area, RAC has invested in projects designed to generate environmental and social benefits, such as the eco-sheets that vehicle check subsidiary company HPI provides free of charge to used car dealers. These allow buyers to make more informed decisions based on a car’s emissions and fuel economy, and were cited by the judges at the 2007 Greenfleet Awards as contributing to the company retaining the Breakdown/Recovery Company of the Year title.

Norwich Union is implementing a travel plan to mitigate the 2,738 tonnes of CO₂ emissions produced by its 14.7 million kilometres of business mileage. This looks at areas such as reducing unnecessary travel and using public transport where possible.

“One in three motorists considers CO₂ emissions when buying a car. Ultimately, our aim is to encourage more motorists to think about purchasing a used vehicle with lower emissions of CO₂.” Daniel Burgess, automotive director, HPI

We feel it is our responsibility to pass on good energy management practices to our customers. So working with property partners Bureau Veritas, we have put together a carbon reduction programme for our leading commercial property clients. This measures their carbon emissions, advises them on how they could make reductions, then reassesses their emissions and offsets any remaining carbon footprint so that a statement can be issued verifying the client as carbon neutral.

5, 4, 3...

In early 2007, the newly formed UK Norwich Union Energy Steering Group issued a CO₂ policy and a ‘5, 4, 3’ strategy to reduce like-for-like usage of electricity by 5%, gas and CO₂ by 4%, and water by 3%. In the UK more than 50 energy-saving initiatives are being considered, from removing lights in cold drinks machines and testing automatic PC shutdown to trialling a device to stop boilers from firing up unnecessarily. The reductions in consumption achieved – gas by 12.3%, water use by 4.8% and electricity by 3.9% – have helped us to reduce our annual CO₂ emissions to 70,003 tonnes, down by 12.6% from 80,097 tonnes the year before.

“The progress made against the ‘5, 4, 3’ strategy demonstrates Norwich Union’s commitment to reduce energy use as well as buy emission-free electricity. The Energy Working Group challenges everyday operational activities while we search for new opportunities to significantly reduce our business energy and water use.” Mark Hughes, director, NUOS