Sustainability Report 2012 - Generali Versicherung AG

Ecological paper quota (%)100806040200124.575.288.4100 100 100 100 97.8 98.2 98.393.7ITALY AUSTRIA FRANCE GERMANY SPAIN SWITZERLANDTOTAL1.5 7.3 83.3 83.62009 2010 2011 201237.7% 47.5% 85.6% 90.8%97.5100 100 100 100 100 10089.8The Group is also committed to increasing the amount of ecological paper as a proportion of total paper consumption, which in 2012came to 90.8%. Ecological paper means paper that has a limited and controlled impact on the environment in all of its processes,from forest management for the retrieval of the raw materials to production. Currently, 100% of the paper purchased in Austria, Spainand Switzerland is certified as ecological as it satisfies the criteria established by national and international certification systems suchas European Ecolabel, Der Blaue Engel (German blue angel), the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and the PEFC (Programme forEndorsement of Forest Certification).Paper with a lower than normal unit weight, equal to 75 g/m 2 , is used in all countries, with additional savings in terms of the naturalresources employed even if the current consumption rate in terms of sheets of paper remains the same.As well as ecological paper, the Group companies also use a small quantity of recycled paper, equal to 6.9%.As well as ecological paper, the companies in all of the EMScountries are also committed to purchasing stationery andtoner with low environmental impact. Indeed, many countrieshave a catalogue of ‘green’ products which includes, forexample, solvent-free pens with water-based ink, pencilsmade with wood from sustainably managed forests, andtoner produced with recycled and/or regenerated materials.In 2012, the companies in the System bought 464 quintals oftoner cartridges (-28.5% compared to 2011), of which 39.7%were regenerated and 12.5% recycled. In this context, thenetwork of Alleanza Toro agencies in Italy is equipped withEcoBoxes, containers provided directly by the toner supplierwho manages the delivery and collection of the boxes and therefilling of the cartridges.Initiatives to reduce paper consumption in 2012CountryItaly, Austria, France,Germany, Switzerland,SpainItaly, Austria, France,Germany, SwitzerlandItaly, Austria, France,Germany, SwitzerlandItalyAustriaType of initiativeAs well as reducing paper and electricity consumption, the replacement of individualphotocopiers, printers and fax machines with multifunctional machines or centralised printersfor the office/floor makes it possible to streamline workplaces, improve service levels, andreduce IT waste.As well as eliminating the use of paper, replacing the paper communications sent to customersand sales networks with electronic communications (e-mail, text message) makes it possible tokeep in constant contact with clients.The electronic storage and digitalisation of documents is increasingly widespread with benefits interms of both the accessibility and the security and confidentiality of the documents. Thanks toelectronic archiving, over 14 million sheets of paper were saved in 2012.Since 2012 members of the Assicurazioni Generali Board of Directors have only receiveddocuments in electronic format to be read on tablets. In January 2013 the newspaper projectwas launched, which involves a subscription to the online edition of the Sole24Ore newspaper.There was also a switch from paper lunch vouchers to electronic lunch vouchers which, as wellas eliminating the use of paper, also has positive effects on emissions as the vouchers are nolonger physically distributed to the various sites.Some workstations were equipped with two monitors to reduce the need to print documents;in addition, fabric towels are used instead of paper towels in the bathrooms, which alsoreduces the amount of waste produced.The majority of the measures described above have had positive effects on paper consumption as well as toner andenergy consumption. This reduction in consumption can be added to the reduction resulting from changes already madeor ongoing with regard to the Group’s real estate assets.ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE | 129