Environmental management system
In order to meet our commitments to the environment and climate, in 2009 we developed the Group Environmental Management System (EMS) inspired by the principles of the ISO:14001 standard.
Within our EMS, we assess the impacts arising from the Group operations like the impact of buildings, data centers and the personnel mobility.
Direct impacts
The perimeter of our Environmental Management System
The most relevant environmental aspects on which we focus the monitoring of our performances and the interventions for their improvements are:
- the management of company sites, aiming at the optimisation of spaces through the consolidation of smaller offices into larger sites, the reduction of energy consumption and the use of natural resources like paper, as well as the curbing of waste production and its correct disposal;
- the management of data center, with the goal to feed them with renewable energy;
- the management of mobility involves the reduction of business trips through greater recourse to smartworking and training via e-learning. We also prioritise the use of public transport to reduce the use of private vehicles while we are gradually electrifying the company car fleet with hybrid and electric vehicles.
Our EMS comprises around 90 Group company sites and many local offices within our sales networks, covering the 100% of Generali’s employees. The monitoring of environmental performance is subject to internal and independent third party audits: more information on the verification activities can be found in the Independent Auditors' Report on the Consolidated Non-Financial Statement in the Annual Integrated Report.
In terms of geography, our EMS measures 19 countries and organizational units in which the majority of Group personnel are concentrated: Argentina, Austria, Banca Generali, Bulgaria, Chile, Europ Assistance, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland, but our commitment to improving environmental performances is global and regards all of the countries in which we are present.
Indirect impacts
We involve our stakeholders in environmental and climate protection to promote system change and achieve results on a wider scale. As such, we also promote the preservation of the environment in the relationships with our customers (product ecology and customer ecology), issuers (investment ecology) and suppliers (procurement ecology).
- Product ecology: we develop insurance solutions that encourage our customers to adopt sustainable lifestyles and support them in mitigating and adapting to climate change. These include coverages for specific risks for energy generation plants from renewable sources and coverages against natural disasters. We are also expanding our range of insurance products connected with green finance.
- Customer ecology: we follow precise processes for the assessment and selection of corporate customers in order to minimise the risk of offering P&C insurance coverage to companies involved in cases of serious environmental damage, additionally this coverages are not offered to customers in carbon intensive sectors such as thermal coal and upstream oil & gas.
- Investment ecology: we have clear investment policies that consider the environmental performances of issuing companies to minimise the risk of financing companies involved in cases of serious environmental damages and to reduce the carbon footprint of our portfolio, also by increasing our green investments and excluding the financing of the coal and unconventional oil & gas sectors;
- Procurement ecology: we share, with suppliers, our expectations regarding the correct environmental management of our supply chains. The violation of the principles outlined in the Group Code of Conduct may lead to the interruption of the business relationship.
