As a company committed to restoring lives, businesses and communities, ESG is at the heart of Crawford’s approach and helping clients achieve their ESG ambitions is an increasingly important role.
There is a growing expectation for all in the insurance industry to “walk the talk” when it comes to ESG. No longer is it sufficient for companies across the insurance supply chain to express their commitment to the principles of sustainability and a fairer society. Now we must also demonstrate to regulators, clients and our own people how we live that commitment every day.
At Crawford, we are very intentional in our efforts to embed ESG into our decision-making and operations, as it dovetails with our purpose of restoring lives, businesses and communities. Over the past three years in particular, we have invested in improving our company’s impact on society and the environment, raising our standards of corporate governance.
We are striving to ensure that our workplace is genuinely inclusive, supportive and offering the flexibility our people need to pursue personal and professional fulfilment. We have also invested the time and resources to be ready to meet the imminent Financial Conduct Authority Customer Duty requirements in the UK that set clearer and higher standards of consumer protection across financial services.
We are acutely aware that, as a close supply-chain partner, Crawford can also play a key role in helping our clients advance their ESG ambitions. We know this matters to them, because over the past 18 months, every tender we have received has referred to ESG.
One way in which we can assist clients with their ESG targets and reporting requirements is through our ability to track the carbon footprint of each individual claim, as part of our claims management service. We are also working with clients to determine the carbon footprint of a range of typical claims.
We use a carbon-reporting software that assists with data capture, carbon benchmarking and sustainability targets. We believe that the data will generate value for our clients and inform the decisions we take to reduce our own carbon footprint.
At Crawford, we have a broad commitment to promoting more sustainable environmental project management. One example is our “Zero to Landfill” policy, a claims solution in the UK that aims to promote sustainable soil management in the aftermath of a pollution incident. We work with specialist contractors to treat contaminated soils, and reduce the need for offsite disposal, which is environmentally damaging and expensive. The aim is to restore degraded soil, so it is safe for reuse, ultimately supporting sustainability, while also boosting our clients’ ESG credentials.
We extend our ESG considerations to other service providers involved in the claims management process. We have a “Sustainability Charter” for contractors in the Crawford Contractor Connection managed repair network. As part of our supplier selection process, we expect companies to adopt good environmental practice concerning the selection of materials, the work undertaken, as well as removal and segregation of waste.
We also ensure all suppliers have their own environmental policy, detailing good practice approaches to waste management, sustainable materials, carbon reduction, and efficient work planning, and conduct regular audits to ensure compliance with their own procedures and our practices.
Through all levels of our own business, we are constantly working to shrink our carbon footprint. We have reduced our use of office space, increased the number of electric and hybrid vehicles in our fleets, lowered energy consumption in our data centers, and increased the use of audio and video conferencing to cut down on the need for travel.
Reducing humanity’s climate impact will require a global team effort, in which every organization recognizes its responsibility to make the changes that will help us become a more resilient society. To learn more about our commitment to ESG, read our Global Citizenship Report.
