Cathay Group has long regarded low-carbon operations as an important operational development goal. Our parent company CDP disclosures were awarded the highest A Leadership rating. Cathay Century Insurance responded to international trends by incorporating carbon reduction awareness into insurance, investments, and operations. We remain unafraid in the face of difficulties and are constantly seeking to change and innovate. We have led the industry in recent years and have built important milestones in carbon management. In 2020 and 2021, we obtained a product carbon footprint label and a carbon reduction label. In 2022, Cathay Century Insurance incorporated climate change strategies into insurance products, and completed carbon intensity calculations of high-emission insurance products for the first time, allowing us to identify the carbon emissions of different insurance types so we could optimize our climate change responses and actions. In 2023, in response to the international carbon rights trading platform launched by the Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange, and to demonstrate our willingness to align with international trends, we completed our first carbon rights trade and purchased 2,500 tons of carbon rights. In future, we will formulate plans for carbon rights swapping and application scenarios to meet our carbon neutrality targets. We hope to become a benchmark for carbon management by acting as a green pioneer in the property insurance industry, not only building comprehensive carbon management measures for ourselves, but also driving carbon-related opportunities and developments to promote sustainable transformation within industries and across Taiwan.
Cathay Century Insurance used the “Environment and Energy Management Policy” formulated by Cathay Financial Holdings Group to manage environmental impacts from our operations and upstream suppliers. We adhere to SBTi, RE100, and other international sustainability initiatives, pledging to reduce carbon emissions by 25% before 2030 as well as raise renewable energy usage at all operational sites to 100% by 2030. We formulated strategies and conducted implementations based on our “net zero emissions” targets.
We obtained the first carbon footprint label in the property insurance industry issued by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in 2020 and subsequently obtained the carbon footprint reduction label certification in 2021, becoming the first and only insurance company in Taiwan to obtain the dual certifications. Through carbon footprint verification (CFV) of the entire service process, we can better identify the hotspots for carbon emissions throughout the insurance policy’s life cycle, so as to prioritize resource investments and to set cost-effective reduction targets as well as green products and sustainable procurement as the basis.
Cathay Century Insurance adopted greenhouse gas inventory procedures in 2013 and continues to review carbon emission sources. We introduced digital and electronic processes into internal administrative operations to enhance operational efficiency and reduce paper usage. We used apps, tablets, laptops, and other tools to mobilize traditional office tasks, freeing them from location and time constraints. We also replaced old lighting equipment in workplace environments with energy-saving LED lights and changed desktops to laptops to increase workplace energy savings.
We use various digitalization measures to familiarize colleagues with digital tools and formulated “Workplace Transformation” action plans to reduce office areas and idle space, thereby enhancing workplace utilization efficiency while lowering electricity consumption from air-conditioners and lights as we move toward our net zero transformation targets.
Cathay Century Insurance actively responds to internal energy and carbon reduction policies and has long conducted waste management for internal operations. Statistics showed that all waste generated at Cathay Century Insurance in 2023 was composed of general waste, which was processed by outsourced professional manufacturers. In terms of waste reduction management, we used a variety of measures to achieve source reduction targets through internal promotion to all employees and departments, and we also expanded our collaborations with external units to maximize the benefits of resource reuse. We collaborated with ASUS Foundation on the “Recycled Computer Project,” recycling and donating 642 desktops and 55 monitors. CS Report
