103: Attitudes to Achieving Net Zero with Adrian Saunders

Why is it so important to set Net Zero targets on an individual business level? Is there anything regional or provincial brokerages can do to help curb the impact of climate change? In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re thrilled to be speaking with returning guest Adrian Saunders, Commercial Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance. Ecclesiastical recently conducted a survey investigating brokers’ attitudes to Net Zero target setting and carbon emissions reduction, which has yielded some slightly disappointing, but not entirely surprising results. In conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Adrian shares the highlights from the survey, and emphasises the imperative of raising climate awareness across the insurance industry, and providing greater resources and information for small businesses looking to make a difference.   Quote of the Episode “We need to have a shared responsibility, across business, across society… and recognise and accept that responsibility and do something. Surely we're all better for doing something than saying, ‘That’s too difficult, I can't do anything.’” National brokerages are leading the charge with regards to setting Net Zero targets and announcing climate-conscious commitments. It’s all too easy for smaller businesses to say that there’s nothing they can really do to help deter climate change, as any impact they might have would be negligible or insignificant in the broader scheme of things. Yet, it is only through an acceptance of a collective social responsibility, at every level of industry and society, to cutting carbon emissions and cultivating new, climate conscious ways to conduct our lives and business, that any substantial change can be made, and this crisis can be avoided. No business is too small to set Net Zero targets.   Key Takeaways In the year since Ecclesiastical’s last climate awareness survey, understanding that Net Zero is a good thing has grown by 40%. Alongside this, 39% of brokers nationwide have established targets for becoming Net Zero. Yet, the growth in brokers setting these targets over the last year has been marginal, and the part of the market that seems to be lagging is regional and provincial brokers. Only 10% of regional brokers, and only 4% of provincial brokers, have set Net Zero targets. Perhaps of even greater concern is that only 12% of all respondents to this year’s survey think it’s important to their clients that they have a carbon Net Zero mindset, with no change in this attitude from last year. This is contradicted by the fact that nearly three quarters of brokers have affirmed the importance of climate consciousness. Furthermore, all businesses are increasingly interested in the ethical stance of those whom they are trading and cooperating with. What can we do as brokers to reduce our emissions and become Net Zero? How do we get started? For Adrian, in every facet of a business, you will probably be able to identify a change you could consciously make to become more climate responsible, such as introducing hybrid meetings to reduce travel emissions. Before we implement these changes, we first need to build a climate-conscious environment within our businesses. This must begin with a strong level of understanding about climate change, accompanied by a narrative about what you will do as a business to combat it. We must identify our carbon footprint, both on a business level and an individual level, and the opportunities we have to make a change. Understanding how we can combat climate change is at the very essence of what we do as an industry. Insurance is all about managing risk, and the prospect of climate catastrophe is the biggest risk we all face today. Ecclesiastical have curated several great resources regarding how brokers can become more climate responsible, including a series of webinars linked in the Resources section below.   Best Moments/Key Quotes “What our research shows is that national brokers, therefore