Protecting the climate through a targeted strategy to reduce our carbon footprint
Taking care of the planet also means taking care of you and your customers. Through our Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, AXA Partners, alongside the AXA Group, is demonstrating our increasing commitment to environmental protection.
At AXA Partners, we believe that it is essential to build long-lasting relationships with our partners so that we can move forward together as we strengthen our commitment within society. Three scopes, defined as international standards, help us to guide our actions..
Assessing our environmental performance: how and why we do it
Preserving the environment also means taking care of people. This commitment is reflected across all parts of our organisation and is inherent to our core insurance business.
For many years, the AXA Group has assessed its carbon footprint, which includes all AXA Partners sites. Through this, we measure the environmental impact of our buildings (energy and water consumption, waste generation and management), our business travels (by train, plane and AXA vehicle) and our employees’ commutes.
In order to determine more precisely what actions could be taken to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the short, medium and long-term, various levers divided into three scopes will be activated. These scopes relate too:
- Direct emissions - linked to the combustion of fossil fuels (mainly the vehicle fleet)
- Indirect emissions - linked to the energy needs of our buildings
- Other indirect emissions - linked to the nature of our activity
These three scopes also allow us to have a holistic view of our environmental impact. Whether it is the heating method we use in our offices, or the amount of fossil fuel our suppliers use, we can get an accurate measurement of our ecological footprint.
In 2020, AXA Partners France commissioned a full carbon footprint assessment, which also included emissions from our service providers and laid the foundations for an environmental strategy, which is likely to be used by other AXA Partners entities. All stages of the value chain have been taken into account, including the environmental impact of our suppliers and partners.
By assessing the company's emissions, AXA Partners is able to identify various levers for action aimed at reducing its environmental impact. In other words, a detailed emissions assessment is the first step in raising awareness and implementing concrete actions.
Corporate Social Responsibility is increasingly integrated at different levels of the organisation and in the daily tasks of all employees. Reducing our overall environmental impact involves concrete (but not always obvious!) measures in the workplace, such as installing energy-saving LED light bulbs, reducing water flow, and more precise heating and air conditioning control to avoid over-consumption.
Involving everyone in a Corporate Social Responsibility policy that takes care of the environment
Carrying out an accurate scope-based analysis allows AXA Partners to identify what practical steps can be taken in order to cut our CO² emissions. To engage our employees, effective communication is also essential: "We recently created a 'Climate @ AXA Partners' SharePoint: a unique space where employees can learn about the strategies put in place by AXA Partners and the AXA Group," explains Matthieu Meunier, Global Corporate Responsibility Officer at AXA Partners.
In addition, all employees were invited to take part in an ideation contest focusing on two environmental topics:
- How AXA Partners as an organisation can reduce its environmental impact
- How, as individuals, we can contribute to these efforts
Having a global approach, across our entire value chain, is also essential to achieving our environmental objectives. Adapting and rethinking operating methods, as well as taking into account new sources of emissions are also part of a well-targeted environmental strategy.
Each division’s expertise is necessary and useful. In 2020, the AXA Group launched a global program aimed at ‘digital sustainability.’ This was created to raise awareness on this topic and measure AXA's digital activities’ carbon footprint. The various components (usage, equipment, data centres and services) were considered in a holistic way so that they can be reduced at Group level. "The IT teams are currently working on ways to reduce our environmental impact linked to the increasing use of digital tools. Similarly, the Purchasing, Logistics, Finance and HR teams are working to reduce our overall environmental impact," explains Matthieu Meunier.
The AXA Group is committed to further reducing its environmental impact
At Group level, the environmental strategy revolves around the 'AXA For Progress Index.' As an investor, AXA is committed to increasing its green investments to €26 billion by 2025. AXA also wants to set an example and help its employees to become leaders of the transition by training all teams on climate issues by 2023. Achieving carbon neutrality and supplying 100% of our electricity through renewable energies by 2025 are also among the Group's objectives.
At AXA Partners, electricity has come from renewable energy sources since 2018. Through our various actions and statements, we aim to reduce our CO² emission by a further 23% by 2025 (compared to 2019). "The role of the Corporate Social Responsibility team is to ensure that environmental and social issues are effectively addressed by consolidating these various initiatives," concludes Matthieu Meunier, Global Corporate Responsibility Officer. This is an ambition distilled through AXA Partners’ entire value chain, and involves supporting our partners in their efforts to operate in ways that are more respectful to the environment.
If you would like to learn more, please refer to ‘our values & commitments’ to learn more about the actions we take each day to demonstrate our commitment to a sustainable future.