Certification

To minimise the impact we have on the environment, a vast amount of information has to be captured, sorted and processed in our environmental management system. Furthermore, for all its complexity, that system has to be transparent and objectively verifiable.

Since the end of 2000, Munich Re’s environmental management system has been certified in accordance with EMAS – European (EC) Regulation No. 761/2001 – concerning the voluntary participation of organisations in a joint environmental management and eco-auditing system. Certification to the internationally recognised DIN EN ISO 14 001 standard also signals the go-ahead to extend our environmental management system to our offices throughout the world. At the end of 2006, the quality of our environmental management was confirmed in the form of revalidation by an external environmental verifier.

Where our insurance subsidiaries are concerned, Victoria has had an audited environmental management system since 1998, making it the very first European insurer to achieve EMAS validation, in addition to which it is certified in accordance with ISO 14 001. In June 2002, Victoria’s environmental management system also obtained the European Commission’s first EMAS Award – the only insurer out of twelve European companies to earn this distinction. This was followed in July 2007 by EMAS revalidation and certification to ISO 14 001.

D.A.S. UK also operates an environmental management system. When its head office in Bristol was certified under the ISO 14 001 standard in 2003, it became the first legal expenses insurer to earn this award. The distinction is now shared with its other offices in the UK and the Irish Republic.