Together with Deutsche Post AG, Allianz will be sending out their 140 million letters per year via carbon dioxide-neutral channels. Climate-friendly mail is a part of the insurance company's climate policy of reducing its carbon dioxide emissions 20 percent by 2012.
Allianz Deutschland AG
Munich, Jul 1, 2008
Allianz letters are transported by climate-neutral means
Photo: Deutsche Post
Each day, shipping goods and mail by road generates vast amounts of carbon dioxide – a major cause of global warming. As of July 1, 2008, all mail leaving the Allianz printing center in Unterföhring will go by climate-neutral means. Deutsche Post AG compensates for the carbon dioxide emissions generated by Allianz mailings, for example by supporting a hydroelectric project in Brazil or using electric hybrid vehicles for mail delivery. The project is named GoGreen, and Allianz is the first major corporation to join.
"Climate change is one of the greatest risks we face for the future. That's why every Allianz company plans to cut its carbon dioxide emissions 20 percent by 2012," explains Thomas Pleines, board member of Allianz Deutschland AG. Already in 2005, Allianz adopted an extensive package of climate measures to reduce the direct emissions of carbon dioxide that result primarily from office energy consumption and from business travel. The company has already made a start: so far, Allianz Deutschland AG has lowered its carbon dioxide emissions a total of six percent over the past two years.
More than 4,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide neutralized
The master agreement with Deutsche Post, signed in June of this year, carries Allianz a step further. Allianz Shared Infrastructure Services GmbH (ASIC), which is in charge of the Allianz IT infrastructure, prints out some 710 million pages a year for Allianz companies in Germany. These include mail to insurance and banking clients – policies, account statements, and letters with current information about products. "The printed pages we produce in a year would make a stack 71 kilometers high – more than 15 times as high as the Matterhorn," says Robert Herele, Output Service Manager at ASIC. The GoGreen involvement will compensate for more than 4,000 metric tons of carbon oxide this year alone.
A general effort to protect the climate
Allianz's ambitious goals to protect the climate necessitate adjustments in every department – even product development. For example, the EcoMotion auto insurance plan enables environmentally aware drivers to neutralize their own carbon dioxide emissions. Allianz has also joined other corporations in committing to active, sustainable climate protection, as for example in the "2 Degrees – German Businesses for Climate Protection" initiative.
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