Today, the climate crisis is one of the biggest threats that the earth faces. As a planet, we must work together before it is too late in order to reverse the damage that has been done. At Aviva Canada, one of our many isure-approved insurers, they believe that the best thing they can do for their customers, business and shareholders is their part in preventing climate crisis. This is why in 2021, they announced their Aviva Net Zero Carbon Plan to reduce carbon usage by 2040!

Who is Aviva Canada?

In order to fully understand this stance, we must first understand who Aviva is. To summarize, Aviva is one of the leading property and casualty insurance groups within Canada. They provide home, automobile, lifestyle and business insurance to 2.4 million customers across the country. Additionally, they are a long standing isure-approved insurer. As a subsidiary of UK-based Aviva plc, Aviva Canada employs over 4,000 people to-date. While doing so, they focus on creating a bright and sustainable future for their customers and communities across the country.

What does Net Zero Carbon mean?

As a company that is already carbon-neutral, you may be curious as to what the Aviva Net Zero Carbon plan means. Net Zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gasses that are produced and removed form the atmosphere. A good way to think about this is referring to a sink. When you turn on the tap, you add more water to the sink. But, if you pull the plug, water will drain. The amount of water that accumulates in the sink will depend on both the input from the tap and the drain’s output. In order to keep the water in the sink at a balanced level, you need to make sure the water entering the sink and draining from the sink are balanced. The same applies to the greenhouse gasses we emit into the air. The amount we release, we must also remove. When what we add to the air is no more than what is taken away from the air, we reach Net Zero.

What are the benefits of Net Zero Carbon?

In today’s society, companies and individuals have put the tackling of climate change at the top of their priorities. Due to the situation the planet has found itself in, limiting the emissions within the net decade is a critical move to saving the future. This is why every country, sector, industry and each one of us must work together to find ways to cut the carbon we are producing.

You have most likely heard the term “carbon neutral” before. This refers to the ambition to limit the increase in future carbon emissions a company creates while also using offsets to neutralize any existing emissions. Net Zero takes this a step further by first placing more focus on reducing the carbon emissions as much as possible first. Afterwards, they offset the unavoidable residual CO2 as a last resort.

How does Aviva plan to reach Net Zero Carbon?

Since the beginning, Aviva has been taking the steps to reduce their carbon emissions internally. They also support carbon offsetting projects. These are projects that reduce the same amount of carbon that Aviva produces through their buildings and other operations, to balance out the residual emissions. In order to do so, they announced in March of 2021 their plans to make this plan a reality. This involves becoming a Net Zero company by 2040. In addition to this, they want to achieve a 25% reduction in carbon intensity of assets by 2025, with 60% by 2030. They also want to have Net Zero operations and supply chains by 2030.

In order to progress towards their target, Aviva will be tracking themselves through annual, public reporting. By setting immediate targets for 2025, 2030, and 2040, they are setting out a clear pathway towards their goal. “Aviva is taking bold steps to tackle the climate crisis. As the UK’s leading insurer, we have a huge responsibility to change the way we invest, insure and serve our customers,” states Amanda Blanc, Aviva’s Group Chief Executive Officer. “For the world to reach Net Zero, it’s going to take leadership and radical ambition. And it’s going to take Aviva to play our part.”

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