It is our policy to have a responsible approach to identifying, and then minimising, the environmental impacts of our business activities and those that arise from our ownership and occupation of office premises. In doing so, we seek to reduce the amount of waste our activities produce, and the amount of resources we consume. We have made commitments to our shareholders and staff to reduce our carbon footprint.
Our environmental policy encourages the business to operate more sustainably by: measuring our use of water, energy and other products in order to reduce consumption over time; buying sustainably-sourced or energy efficient products where we can; and minimising waste by recycling products as much as is feasible. We generate significant cost and energy savings primarily through careful use of electricity, water and gas.
For the third year in a row, Hiscox UK has been carbon neutral. Our carbon footprint has improved by approximately 5% in comparison to the last audited year. The balance of our carbon emissions is offset through an investment in an African Energy Efficient Stove Project in Kenya. Replacing open fires with energy efficient stoves in villages throughout the area results in reduced firewood and therefore carbon emissions. The stoves more than halve the amount of smoke from firewood, benefiting family health. For more information, please go to www.hiscox.com.
Our sustainability efforts have also been recognised by the City of London Corporation. The London office was recently awarded Platinum in the Clean City Award scheme.
Hiscox Bermuda received the Greenrock Green Workplace award for the second year in a row. Greenrock Green Workplace Awards (GWAs) is an environmental competition bringing together businesses of all sizes that share the same vision of a greener workplace. Hiscox is also a founding member of ClimateWise which aims to leverage the insurance industry’s expertise to understand, communicate and act on climate change risk. Members commit to six key principles and are independently reviewed against these annually. These principles span risk analysis, public policy, influencing our customers, investment and managing our direct emissions. In the most recent independent review, Hiscox was recognised as being one of the most improved performers.