Aviva was the first global insurance company to go carbon neutral for its operations in 2006. Since then, the company has saved more than 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 through carbon offsetting projects, improving 1.1 million lives in the process.
Climate Impact Partners has helped Aviva to stand out still further. By harnessing its climate responsibility to deliver positive outcomes for developing communities, the company has cemented its position at the forefront of international climate action within the sector.
As the company maintains its carbon neutrality for its operations on the way to Net Zero, we continue to work with Aviva to source and develop high-quality carbon projects both in the UK and globally, that enable Aviva to meet its current and future climate commitments whilst generating additional positive impacts on community and biodiversity.
About the client
Aviva is the UK’s largest diversified insurer, with 19.2 million customers in the UK, Ireland, and Canada. The company plays a leading role in assessing climate risks in the insurance sector and encourages businesses to speed up delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Aviva’s ambitious goals reflect an enduring commitment to sustainability. The company’s original plan included halving its operational carbon footprint by 2020 and reducing it by a further 20% in the following decade. Aviva is also determined to take responsibility for its remaining carbon emissions – that’s why the company chose to join forces with Climate Impact Partners. By the end of 2020 they had reduced their operation emissions by 83% from the 2010 baseline.
The climate action program we developed for Aviva helps offset its emissions and delivers positive social outcomes in developing communities through high-quality, verified climate and development projects. Our team also supports the company in measuring and communicating these community benefits to stakeholders in a robust, engaging way.
Our partnership with Climate Impact Partners allowed us to take full responsibility for our carbon emissions while delivering solid, quantifiable social outcomes. This collaboration has also helped us demonstrate our sustainability to staff and stakeholders and inspired us to make ambitious plans to develop our own projects with Climate Impact Partners.
What we have done together
We helped Aviva offset its carbon emissions through our high-quality projects, which cut carbon and improve lives. And, by collaborating with the London Benchmarking Group (now Business for Societal Impact, B4SI), we provided the company with a pioneering new way to measure the social impact of its carbon offsetting projects. This tool allowed Aviva to demonstrate that its carbon neutral program had so far benefited 1.1 million people and is a cost-effective way to make a positive difference to communities and climate change.
Climate Impact Partners went on to help Aviva win a UNFCCC Momentum for Change award in 2017, recognizing its combined climate neutrality and social impact approach as best practice and an inspiration for others – and helping to position Aviva as a responsible, ethical brand.
By leveraging Climate Impact Partners’ expertise in project development and clean cooking projects, Aviva provided early-stage finance to enable the development of an efficient cookstove project in India. This project is helping communities to drastically cut fuel usage as well as indoor air pollution, which has a number of negative health effects for women and children especially. Aviva is using the credits generated from this project towards its carbon neutral commitment on-route to net zero.
What positive outcomes did we deliver?
Climate Impact Partners helped Aviva maintain its carbon neutral status and improve more than 1 million lives.
With our support, Aviva communicated its positive outcomes to stakeholders with clarity and confidence, raising its profile as a socially responsible business. We also used the B4SI community framework to create a standard way to measure positive social impacts from carbon offset programs.
The partnership has helped position Aviva as a credible advocate for the transition to a low carbon economy, both internally and externally. Employees report via the company’s annual staff survey that they feel Aviva is making a positive contribution to the world, while the company’s profile as a sustainability leader in its sector is recognized in the wider business community.
Delivering towards the Global Goals
Good Health and Wellbeing
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Gender Equality
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Clean Water and Sanitation
Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
Affordable and Clean Energy
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Climate Action
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Life on Land
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
Partnerships for the Goals
Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
Supporting our projects delivers on multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). You can read more on the Goals below.
Learn more about the global goals
