Equity is the focus of our sustainability and climate action commitments
By Beth Churchill, American Family Insurance Sustainability Administrator
Our corporate responsibility strategy at American Family Insurance rests on three pillars:
Environment, reducing our environmental footprint by integrating sustainable practices throughout our company.
Community, leading collaboration in community involvement with the goal of empowering socially impactful and resilient communities.
People, creating a culture of inclusive well-being for our employees, customers and communities.
You can see our achievements in each of these areas throughout 2019 in the newly released Corporate Responsibility Report.
The report highlights the goals, partnerships and investments in these three areas, all involving collaboration from many across the company. The work requires diving deeply into our values to set priorities and research opportunities for inclusivity, sustainability, giving and well-being.
We view our corporate responsibility efforts through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. These values guide our choices and priorities.
Taking action to benefit the climate
Many American Family Insurance leaders and employees have been working to understand the changing climate and how it affects our industry and customers.
Our research and discussions have resulted in our company’s five-year Sustainability and Climate Action Strategic Plan. It outlines long-term goals and objectives, starting with actionable steps this year that move us toward our long-term targets.
The specific actions we plan to take in the next few years are clear. Some stem from environmental changes within our campuses and buildings, such as:
- Increase renewable and resilient energy use.
- Enhance climate resilience of supply chains, with equity and diversity in mind.
- Continue to reach for our dream of a zero-waste future.
- Reduce water consumption by at least 25%.
Others relate to sustainable building practices:
- Restore 25% of total land owned to a sustainable, natural state.
- Incorporate LEED, WELL and/or FORTIFIED building principles in future facility projects and lease agreements.
- Purchase 25% of corporate food from sustainable/local sources, with a focus on diverse food sources.
- Increase employee access to alternative and active commuting options.
And, some changes encompass the investments we make and the advocacy we bring through our partnerships and industry involvement.
Investing with climate action in mind
Our environmental and climate action focus brought BlocPower to our attention in 2019. The company is one of 12 startups we invested in during our first year at the American Family Institute for Corporate and Social Impact. Using machine learning, the company provides energy-efficient retrofit recommendations to the owners of small- and medium-sized buildings in metro areas, with a goal of reducing emissions.
The end result? Cleaner buildings. Cleaner air.
Our investment has allowed BlocPower to expand into Milwaukee, bringing environmental progress to neglected neighborhoods and creating a higher quality of life for residents.
Investments like this — and in companies like OneConcern and Solstice — support equitable environmental change and progress.
We lead in hopes that others will follow
Our industry is at the leading edge of climate impact. We see the risks. We acknowledge the challenges.
At American Family, we have a roadmap for progress — both for our company and our communities, including partnerships that deconstruct the systemic barriers holding us back from a sustainable future.
We will engage with climate leaders in non-profit organizations, foundations, business and government. We’ll listen to young people, who are our most important voices for change and who marshal purpose to inform policy.
And we’ll continue to educate ourselves in the science, technology and opportunities we can support, with a focus on people most affected by injustice and marginalization.
Making a world of difference
At American Family Insurance, we recognize our connection to the natural environment and are dedicated to minimizing our operational impact. We understand that our dreams are dependent on the responsible use of natural resources — which is why we’re committed to ensuring future generations have an equal opportunity to experience the world in all its awe and wonder. We’ve acknowledged the very real impacts of climate change and its effect on our customers, company and communities today. And we believe it is our responsibility to address these impacts directly.
To position American Family as a leader in environmental sustainability and climate action — and to ensure we’ve prepared our enterprise for the impacts of changing environmental conditions — we created a Sustainability and Climate Action Strategy in 2019.
