Allianz pledges £100,000 to help insurance brokers reduce their emissions

Allianz Insurance has pledged £100,000 to support its independent insurance brokers on their journey toward net zero in 2022.

The Allianz Net Zero Accelerator (ANZA), available to apply for from January 2022, helps independent brokers learn about how they can reduce their emissions and guides them through measuring their carbon footprint. Allianz will offer selected brokers tailored one-to-one support, through a specialist environmental consultancy, to help them create a plan to lower their carbon footprint and set reduction targets. Allianz will then offset any emissions which have been measured through the process.

Nick Hobbs, chief distribution and regions officer at Allianz Insurance, said: “As a business, we set ourselves environmental targets and we are proud of the progress we show year on year. We want to encourage brokers to achieve the same, so we’re helping them access expertise and also providing financial support. For the overall industry to make a change, we all need to play a part and this is one way that we can support our broker partners.”

Independent brokers who work with Allianz and employ up to 50 people are invited to visit the dedicated ANZA page on the Allianz UK website and apply in January – the 50 employee mark is not a strict limit but a size indication of the brokerages the mechanism is designed for.

Broker support

The Allianz Net Zero Accelerator is the latest example of the type of partnership that Allianz strikes with its intermediaries.

In 2021, the Allianz Sports Fund allocated £100,000 to grassroots clubs nominated by brokers. This autumn, Allianz Legal Protection (ALP) granted independent brokers free access to Lawphone, its legal advice helpline. And the Allianz Partners Academy offers a range of training programmes, recently adding a mental health first aider course.

Climate credentials

Allianz Insurance has been carbon neutral since 2012 and is committed to sourcing all of its electricity from renewable sources by 2023. It favours repairs over replacement in property claims and supports the use of green parts in vehicle repairs. When moving sites, it recycles office furniture and equipment, and opts for buildings with high sustainability ratings. In October, it told suppliers that tenders would now apply a 10% weighting for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors.

What’s more, Allianz Group topped the 2021 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), having cut its carbon footprint globally per employee by 62% compared to 2010. Allianz is part of the Net-Zero Owner Alliance and the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, UN-convened initiatives that will see investors and insurers shift their portfolios and activities to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Authored by Allianz