Sustainability Report 2015
Resource consumption
Paper consumption
As a company operating in the reinsurance industry, Hannover Re does not make any appreciable use of physical materials. Only the paper consumption at our offices is relevant, and we therefore measure and manage this. It amounted to 6,600,810 sheets at the Hannover location in the year under review (equivalent to around 32 tonnes) and – with a drop of 12.6% – was thus significantly below the level of the previous year. Our newly implemented e-administration system "Ruschlikon by ACORD" also played a part here. Among other things, the system makes possible the paperless editing of official documents. In the first quarter of 2016 alone, for example, Hannover Re electronically processed 7,800 loss advices and altogether 35,000 attachments.
More revealing than the paper consumption in absolute terms is the relative paper consumption per employee. Since 2010 we have consistently reduced our per capita consumption. Whereas in 2010 the figure was 8,333 sheets per year and employee, this number had dropped to 4,937 sheets in the year under review (0.024 tonnes per employee). We have achieved this reduction inter alia by rolling out notebooks as part of our "Next Generation Workplace" programme. Instead of paper-intensive printouts members of staff now take their notebook to meetings. We avoid unintended print jobs by means of the "Print to me" solution implemented in the year under review. Print jobs are not executed immediately, but instead have to be actively initiated by the user at the device. If this is not done, the computer deletes print jobs automatically after 3 days. The continuous drop in paper consumption can also be attributed to ongoing expansion of our document management systems.
Paper consumption
Since 2012 we have used exclusively printer paper bearing the "Euroblume" European environmental seal. This quality seal is awarded to consumer goods which are manufactured with reduced emissions and low energy consumption and which stand out for their restrictive use of chemicals and auxiliary materials. In the year under review we also tested the changeover over to lighter paper of a lower density. From that time on we have been using this paper, which has a lower wood content than the previously used paper and is therefore more environmentally friendly, in our printers.
Since 2011 we have used solely FSC-certified paper in the creation of printed products.
Water consumption
Hannover Re's water is supplied exclusively by the regional water utility company. The total water consumption in the year under review amounted to 17,088,000 litres and was thus higher than in the previous year. The consumption per employee, on the other hand, fell by 3.6%. The decrease was driven by the use of more energy-efficient and economical dishwashers in the canteen as well as the removal of the old dishwashers in the tea kitchens and the associated centralisation of dishwashing functions. In addition, the modernisation of sanitary facilities has helped to reduce consumption.
Water consumption
Water discharge and waste
The total weight of waste decreased sharply by 19% in 2015 to 156,880 kilogrammes. The primary factor here was the substantially reduced volume of waste paper, cardboard, cartons and old files that had been destroyed. In addition, there is greater awareness surrounding the use of resources, thereby avoiding waste. Furthermore, a more professional approach has been taken to the separation of waste for recycling.
Waste
Roughly half of our total waste in 2015 was recycled. All catering waste produced at Home Office in Hannover that requires disposal for hygienic or legal reasons is used to generate energy (sent to a biogas plant).
| Waste by method of disposal for years 2014 and 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in kg | 2015 | in % | 2014 | in % |
| Recycling | 84,100 | 53.6 | 98,910 | 51.1 |
| Composting | 5,040 | 3.2 | 5,400 | 2.8 |
| Energy recovery | 17,330 | 11.0 | 16,500 | 8.5 |
| Combination of material recycling, above-ground landfill and energy recovery1 | 49,360 | 31.5 | 67,440 | 34.8 |
| Electronic waste | 860 | 0.6 | 5,270 | 2.7 |
| Hazardous waste (e.g. energy-saving light bulbs, paint, varnish) | 190 | 0.1 | 240 | 0.1 |
| Total | 156,880 | 100.0 | 193,760 | 100.0 |
| 1 Precise classification is not possible due to the method of waste collection | ||||