Mapfre announces decarbonisation plans, 26% cut to climate footprint

Mapfre has decreased its overall carbon footprint by 26% since 2019, the insurer has announced.

The cut is dramatically above the 3.5% target cut that it had set itself for 2022.

The company announced its decarbonisation efforts so far for World Environment Day and signalled its green plans for the future, not only through investing and underwriting, but also through measures to reduce the footprint of its direct operations.

Mapfre’s announcement comes as a growing number of insurance companies quit the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA). The embattled net zero climate alliance has now lost nearly half its members.

Mapfre said it has reduced its consumption of purchased electricity by 14% (16 Gwh). Its installation of solar panels in Spain, with 4,700 photovoltaic panels, allowed for an annual reduction of 3 GWh at the company’s headquarters.

The Spsnish insurer has reduced its business travel footprint by 68%, especially in countries such as Honduras and Paraguay, in line with a policy of promoting sustainable mobility. Its vehicle fleet used across 25 countries of operation aims to be 100% hybrid and electric by 2030, the company said.

Mapfre is committed to reducing its operational carbon footprint by 50%, and to becoming carbon neutral in all countries by 2030.

The company has committed itself to ensuring that 100% of its electricity consumption will come from clean energies by 2030.

In 2022, Mapfre bought 65% of its electricity with ‘100% renewable’ origin guarantee certificates, owing to the green electricity purchase contracts currently in place in countries such as Spain, Germany and Paraguay (100%), Portugal (99%), Brazil (70%) and Italy (50%).

“The results reflect Mapfre’s strong commitment to sustainability and the fight against climate change, with public objectives such as reducing the group’s operational carbon footprint by 50% by 2030 (compared to 2019) and becoming a neutral company in all countries by 2030,” Mapfre said.

“These challenges demand awareness of its current footprint and identifying short, medium and long-term strategies to reduce it and offset the part that cannot be eliminated,” the insurer added.