Chubb is accelerating plans to go green within its own operations in a big way.

The property/casualty insurance giant said it has a new companywide goal to slash its global greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent on an absolute basis as of 2025. Beyond that, Chubb plans to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent as of 2035.

Chubb said its goals are aligned with the two-degree Celsius target outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement and also the quantitatively supported science-based standards methodology of the United Nations Environmental program. The two emissions goals use 2016 emissions levels as the baseline.

“One of the ways Chubb proactively addresses climate change is by reducing the environmental footprint of our own operations,” Evan Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Chubb, said in prepared remarks. “We have made significant progress since we launched our corporate environmental program more than a decade ago. We look forward to having an even bigger impact in the coming years by adopting these leading science-based standards.”

Greenberg said that Chubb’s focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions ties to its “commitment to citizenship, which recognizes that we must do our part as a steward of the Earth.”

Chubb said this is the third greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitment it has made since launching its corporate environmental program in 2006 and the first that adheres to science-based standards. This is also the first companywide goal announced since ACE Limited acquired The Chubb Corporation and adopted the Chubb name globally in 2016, Chubb said.

From 2006 to 2012, the company reduced greenhouse gas emissions nearly 27 percent per employee, substantially exceeding its original target of 8 percent per employee. Chubb noted it set a new goal in 2014. From 2015 to 2018, a period that included the acquisition, Chubb reduced its absolute global GHG emissions by 21 percent. By 2035, the impact of the company’s continued focus on energy efficient operation programs will result in the emissions reduction of nearly 45,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per year.

Chubb said it plans to achieve its latest round of greenhouse gas reductions by optimizing its real estate portfolio (adjusting office space footprint), energy efficiency projects and the purchase of renewable electricity. Chubb asserts it has worked to make reductions within its global operations, targeting the reduction of energy-level consumption at its facilities , mostly in buildings it owns and long-term leased spaces. This includes efforts to reduce the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions generated from heating, cooling and lighting in offices and from company-owned or -leased vehicles, as well as the reduction, reuse or recycling of resources.

Source: Chubb