Our sustainability management
Sustainability includes not only protection of the environment and climate, but also many other aspects related to farsighted and responsible action.
Memberships and awards
R+V is committed to the Global Compact of the United Nations (UN). In this global initiative, companies undertake to align their actions to ten social and environmental principles. These include, among other things, respect for human and worker rights, commitment to the protection of the environment and the climate, and the fight against corruption. With more than 13,000 participating companies and organisations, the United Nations Global Compact is the world’s largest and most important network for corporate responsibility and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
In 2019, the rating agency ISS ESG once again awarded R+V the coveted "Prime Status" for particularly sustainable companies as part of the DZ BANK Group’s rating. This well-regarded seal of quality attests to an above-average environmental and social commitment. ISS ESG evaluated R+V’s social and environmental performance on the basis of a number of criteria selected specifically for the insurance industry. The analysts assessed, among other things, opportunities for training and continuing professional development, measures for fair business processes and projects for a greater eco-efficiency.
The cooperative idea
R+V has set itself a high target: we endeavour to be one of the most sustainable insurance providers in Germany. To demonstrate our intentions, we have already taken a number of measures for the protection of the environment and the climate. We have also achieved much in adjacent areas such as social engagement and governance. Our goal is based on our self-image as a cooperative company. After all, cooperative means acting responsibly for the community.
At the beginning of 2020, we further cemented this traditional attitude “against egotism – for the community” with our new brand identity. Since then, R+V has used the claim “you are not alone” to demonstrate what is embedded in its cooperative DNA. This includes helping one another, achieving major goals together and assuming responsibility for others. In short: thinking and acting cooperatively.
Therefore, our cooperative attitude “more we – less me” also means assuming responsibility in terms of society and the environment: with our climate strategy, we are expressly committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement and are increasing our efforts to reduce CO2 in all areas of the company.
Our responsibility to the environment
The protection of the environment and the climate is particularly important for R+V as a cooperative insurance provider. That is why R+V has been constantly working for many years to improve the key figures in the area of the environment – with considerable success. For an insurance provider such as R+V, large potential savings are available in the areas of energy (electricity and heating), water, paper, waste and transport (business trips) in particular. The company’s environmental guidelines provide the framework for all measures and projects relating to the protection of the environment and the climate. These principles are also an expression of R+V’s cooperative self-image in terms of its responsibility towards the climate and the environment.
R+V has an environment management system certified by TÜV Rheinland. This means that R+V systematically records all data on energy, water and paper consumption as well as on volumes of waste and CO2 emissions. In addition, R+V developed environmental guidelines and concrete goals to continue to improve with regard to protecting the environment.
Every year since 2013, the city of Wiesbaden has awarded R+V the “ÖKOPROFIT-Betrieb” seal.
The capital of Hesse grants this distinction to companies that are particularly active in protecting the environment and the climate while remaining economically prudent. Participation in the ÖKOPROFIT programme also provides an important basis for the certification of the R+V environmental management system in accordance with the international standard “ISO 14001”.
Environmental guidelines
Preamble
Alongside our responsibility as an insurance provider, as an employer, to our customers and in society, we consider the protection of the environment to be an important part of our sustainability strategy.
Principles
1. We seek to continuously improve our environmental performance. Therefore, we endeavour to reduce emissions and volumes of waste as well as our consumption of energy and materials. We regularly determine and assess our impact on the environment.
2. We inform our employees about operational aspects relating to the environment, promote an environmentally conscious mindset and behaviour and actively involve them in the implementation of our environmental management system.
3. We are committed to complying with all laws and regulations related to the environment and involve suppliers and contractual partners in our efforts to protect the environment.
4. We communicate our environmental performance and our intention to continuously improve it to our employees, customers, business partners, suppliers and the public within the framework of our sustainability communications.
The R+V climate strategy
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The avowed objective of R+V is to be climate-neutral in its "business ecology" from 2025 with regard to direct (“Scope 1”) and indirect (“Scope 2”) emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). The sources of these emissions are primarily the buildings used by R+V and its fleet. From 2025, R+V must completely compensate for its CO2 emissions.
To atain climate neutrality, we are reducing our CO2 emissions as much as possible and compensating for unavoidable emissions through climate protection projects. R+V has already done much for the environment by switching to green electricity and constantly reducing its consumption of paper. In the coming years, however, R+V aspires to make various adjustments to reduce emissions further. Among other things, the company’s own fleet will switch to electromobility and new heating systems are planned to reduce consumption and therefore emissions. In 2035, the CO2 emissions that are not under the corporate control of R+V (“Scope 3”) will also be reduced to zero. In particular, these include the emissions produced by employees when commuting between their homes and workplace and on business trips.
For greater sustainability in business operations
All R+V specialist divisions that have influence over the operational protection of the environment, such as facility management, the fleet, travel management,company catering, and the environment management officer are currently involved in this committee. The environment officers for the major decentralised locations (Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart and Frankfurt) are also represented. The primary objective of the R+V environment team is to constantly improve R+V’s environmental performance.
For an insurance provider such as R+V, the topic of paper offers great potential for the protection of the environment and climate. This relates both to using paper as economically as possible in general and to using recycled paper as extensively as possible. R+V’s total consumption has – in spite of rising numbers of customers and employees – been able to fall in recent years thanks to a number of individual measures such as switching to digital statements, digital signatures, paperless internal invoice processing and dispensing with printed terms and conditions.
Deutsche Post purchases certificates for the quantity of CO2produced during the postage of mail to customers. The money spent goes into climate protection projects that are certified in accordance with internationally recognised standards – for example, the climate-friendly generation of electricity from hydropower in Brazil, from biomass in India or from windmills in China. Thanks to GOGREEN, R+V compensates for CO2 year-on-year. What’s more, customers can immediately see that their letter has been sent in a climate-neutral way. Each letter from R+V is marked with a corresponding “GOGREEN” logo.
After paper, electricity is the second largest category in which an insurance provider such as R+V can make a major impact with regard to climate protection. Therefore, R+V now relies exclusively on electricity from renewable energy – and has thus significantly reduced its "carbon footprint". All of R+V’s buildings and data centres as well as those of its insurance subsidiaries only use electricity that has been generated in a climate-friendly manner.
At its headquarters in Wiesbaden, R+V offers its employees the option of charging their electric vehicle during working hours. At specially configured parking spaces, there are three charging points with a total of six charging options. R+V’s employees and visitors can charge their electric cars there. Cars "refuelled" at R+V are also completely emission-free because R+V exclusively uses green electricity at all its major locations.
With regard to the energy of the future, geothermal energy, R+V has performed pioneering work in Wiesbaden: the insurance provider in the capital of Hesse was the first company ever to heat an office building with geothermal energy. In this way, R+V is making the new office building on Raiffeisenplatz less dependent of fossil fuels and thereby protecting the climate. CO2 emissions are reduced by around two thirds in comparison with conventional oil fuel heating.
R+V has now received several awards for its commitment to cyclists. In May 2020, R+V’s Frankfurt location was designated a “bicycle-friendly employer” – and became the first company in Hesse with gold certification. The European Union (EU) and the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) are behind the "bicycle-friendly employer" initiative. At the beginning of 2021, the R+V headquarters then moved to Wiesbaden, whichalso received a gold medal for the highest standards. With these awards, the initiative honours R+V’s many offers and improvements for cyclists. These include, for example, new bike stands at many buildings, the extension of the JobRad offer, free e-bikes for business trips, the renovation of showers and changing rooms, and the establishment of bicycle repair stations.
R+V has had an environment management system certified by TÜV Rheinland for many years. This is important for all measures relating to the protection of the environment and climate. The environment management system certified by TÜV Rheinland in accordance with the international standard "ISO 14001" is likely to be unfamiliar to many, but experts recognise it immediately. R+V records all data relating to the consumption of energy and paper, quantities of waste, hazardous substances and CO2 emissions. The company also has clear environmental guidelines as well as concrete goals for continuing to improve with regard to the protection of the environment and the climate.
Because of bee mortality, R+V has made sure to plant insect-friendly plants at its buildings for many years now. For even more animals to settle there, the R+V gardening team in Wiesbaden has set up nesting boxes for birds and bats as well as a number of insect hotels. There are also large flower meadows next to the buildings, which are home to many species of insects.
Our responsibility to society - the R+V FOUNDATION
Since 2018, R+V has concentrated its social engagement in the charitable R+V FOUNDATION (only in German). The foundation promotes ideas and initiatives that deal, in particular, with the challenges of social change and identify possible solutions or put them into practice in concrete projects.
Like R+V Versicherung, the benefactor, the foundation is also committed to cooperative traditions. With this in mind, it would primarily like to help people to help themselves. In particular, the R+V FOUNDATION promotes the areas of training and education, work with young people and the elderly, promotes science and research, the welfare system and charitable campaigns. With a view to the future, the foundation is primarily committed to the training of future generations and the promotion and professionalisation of voluntary work. In all its projects, the R+V FOUNDATION attaches particular value to long-term collaboration with eligible initiatives.
Our responsibility as an employer
Just as R+V puts customers at the centre of its activities, the company is also committed to its employees. After all, it is only with good and motivated employees that R+V can continue to compete successfully. At R+V, focus is on people. Therefore, the employees are a very important element of the R+V’s sustainability strategy. You can find further information on our responsibility as an employer on our career pages (only in German).
Sustainability firmly embedded in R+V
The chairman of the board of R+V Versicherung AG is directly responsible for the topic of sustainability. The R+V sustainability officer, as the director of the Sustainability Competence Centre, is responsible for the further development and operational implementation of R+V’s sustainability strategy. He coordinates the company-wide implementation of the strategy with the sustainability committee. This committee consists of representatives of the management from all departments.
The sustainability committee meets on a quarterly basis to see to the group-wide integration of the topic and prepare recommendations for the managing board, which makes the decisions as the senior decision-making body. The members of the sustainability committee also check the feasibility of all proposals and their consequences for each respective department, generate ideas for greater sustainability themselves, coordinate the implementation of measures in their department or in their processes (for example, product development) and support the sustainability officer with reporting.
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