Environmental management in the Munich Re Group: Strategy and objectives

The primordial task of a rigorously applied environmental management system is the systematic incorporation of Board-approved environmental guidelines in the operative processes. This ensures that the staff of the reinsurance group take responsibility for implementing those guidelines and constantly bear in mind the effects that their actions and decisions can have on the environment. We also set concrete annual targets and document results on which our environmental management performance can be measured. Training and promotion measures continuously enhance our employees’ professional and personal skills in this area.

Munich Re aims to reduce the environmental impact caused by our business operations and occupancy of our properties as much as possible. Not content with merely complying with statutory provisions, we go to every possible length to avoid waste and emissions and cut our consumption of energy and water. Where economically feasible, we adhere to the highest technical standards, choosing our suppliers and service providers accordingly. We have set ourselves the ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality at our Munich head office by 2009 and at our other reinsurance offices by 2012.
The results to date are impressive. Munich Re was given an AAA environmental ranking by Innovest and came first out of 24 European financial services providers in an environmental management survey organised by Belgian asset manager KBC.

ERGO is also actively engaged in environmental protection. The Group established a central office in 2005 to coordinate and build on its environmental activities and communications and thus derive maximum impact and benefit from its environmental management system. This step reflects the increasing demands of environmental and sustainability management and confirms the experiences and success of Victoria’s environmental management system.

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