Environment
As a good corporate citizen, we strive to minimize the environmental impacts of our operations as well as help our customers and communities be better prepared for more frequent natural disasters caused by a changing
climate.
Why We Care
While Allstate’s environmental impacts are relatively minor compared to those of industrial or manufacturing companies, we believe a comprehensive environmental strategy is important to our responsibility as a corporate citizen. It’s also good business — reducing our energy, water, waste and paper use directly cuts our operating costs.
As a company in the business of managing risk, we are also keenly aware of the role we play in addressing climate change. This includes mitigation efforts in our own operations and influencing customers’ behaviors. It also includes helping our customers prepare for and adapt to the impact of climate change and more extreme and unpredictable weather patterns.
Our focus on sustainable operations not only helps to reduce our impact, but it has the added benefit of helping us to prepare for future climate change by increasing employees’ awareness and their ability to innovate new products and services, Our employees are proud to work for a company that invests in LEED-certified buildings and implements innovative programs that reduce water bottle and paper usage.
What We Do
Running a lean and high-performing company means looking for efficiency in all our operations. So we continuously strive to improve our performance, consistent with our core beliefs and sustainability efforts.
That includes making our facilities and fleet more energy efficient; reducing our paper use; finding new ways to recycle, reuse and conserve; and working with our suppliers and business partners to minimize Allstate’s overall impact. We set ambitious goals and closely monitor progress, and we work with leaders and the public to address issues related to climate change and disaster preparedness.
How We’re Doing
In 2011, Allstate consolidated a considerable amount of our office space, upgraded our corporate headquarters, and achieved LEED certification in additional facilities and a new data center. These efforts contributed to our long-term goal of reducing energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020. By closing 43 facilities, we reduced our overall real estate footprint by 4.4 percent. We also continued to make progress on our paper-reduction efforts, both internally and with our customers.
Looking Forward
In 2012 and 2013, Allstate’s Sustainability Leadership Team — an enterprise-wide group of business leaders — will be conducting a thorough review of how climate change impacts our business. The goal is to develop a robust climate change strategy, and we will report on our progress in next year’s Sustainability report.
Also over the next few years, we will continue to consolidate our real estate and make further investments in energy-efficient renovations to continue our progress toward meeting our energy- and emissions-reduction goals. We will also look for opportunities to further our efforts related to water, waste and paper reduction.
Our Environmental Policy
We’re guided by a comprehensive policy that applies to our value chain from suppliers to customers, employees, agency owners, business partners, investors and the public.
In support of that policy, we:
- Seek to reduce energy use and limit greenhouse gas emissions
- Focus on conserving water to help preserve an increasingly scarce resource
- Use resources responsibly, from purchase and use through recycling and, as a last resort, disposal
- Minimize the consumption of fossil fuels and reduce harmful emissions, airborne pollutants, traffic and parking lot congestion
Sustainability Leadership Team
Our efforts are overseen by a Sustainability Leadership Team, which is comprised of officers and senior staff from all areas of the company. The team focuses on environmental efforts from an enterprise-wide perspective — launching, leading and integrating sustainability efforts throughout core functions of the business.
Key Performance Indicators and Goals
Environment: Energy Reduction
Reduce energy use 20% by 2020 for Allstate-owned facilities (compared to our 2007 baseline).
Our focus is on improving energy efficiency of Allstate’s operations, reducing electricity demand and exploring renewable energy options.
ProgressAchieved
2011 — 4.76% reduction from 2007 baseline (5.06% reduction from 2010)
2010 — 0.32% increase from 2007 baseline (0.96% reduction from 2009)
2009 — 1.29% increase from 2007 baseline (0.29% reduction from 2008)
2008 — 1.58% increase from 2007 baseline
2007 — Baseline set
Read more on Energy Reduction >
Environment: Carbon Footprint
Maintain or reduce Allstate’s carbon footprint on an annual basis.
Allstate regularly publishes the company’s environmental performance in our annual response to the Carbon Disclosure Project survey (using 2007 as baseline).
Carbon footprint reductions are driven primarily through improved operational efficiency of company-owned buildings, use of more fuel-efficient vehicles in our corporate fleet, and more carefully regulated air travel by employees.
ProgressAchieved
2011 — Achieved (9% decrease over prior year, total 25% reduction since 2007)
2010 — Achieved (3% decrease over prior year, total 15% reduction since 2007)
2009 — Achieved (7% decrease over prior year, total 12% reduction since 2007)
2008 — Achieved (5% decrease over prior year)
2007 — Baseline set
Read more on Carbon Footprint >
Environment: Real Estate
Focus on the sustainability of our real estate by ensuring that many major office renovations and most new construction projects are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
ProgressAchieved
2011 — New Idaho call center in Chubbuck-Pocatello achieved LEED Silver certification.
2010 — Pursuing LEED certification of new Idaho call-in center in Chubbuck-Pocatello, Idaho, slated to open in 2011.
Read more on Real Estate >
Environment: Paper Reduction – Employee Focus
Reduce overall internal employee-use office paper by 25% by 2010. New goal is to maintain paper-reduction levels established in 2010.
In mid-2009, Allstate set a goal to reduce office paper use in our corporate facilities by 25% by 2010.
ProgressAchieved
2011 — Achieved. 11.4% reduction from 2010 level .
2010 — Achieved. 41% reduction in office paper in our corporate headquarters and more than 50% in our field offices compared to our 2008 baseline.
2009 — Well on pace to achieve 2010 target: 21% reduction.
2008 — Baseline set.
Read more on Paper Reduction (Employee Focus) >
Environment: Paper Reduction – Customer Focus
Reduce paper delivery to customers by 20% by 2013 (2009 baseline).
We’re reducing the volume of paper sent to customers through the use of convenient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly options for customers such as EZPay, eBill and ePolicy.
ProgressAchieved
2011 — Achieved educed customer paper by 22.4%, saving approximately 24 million pieces of paper.
2010 — Well on pace to achieve 2013 target: 11.8% reduction totaling approximately 14 million pieces of paper saved.
2009 — Baseline set.
Read more on Paper Reduction (Customer Focus) >