Our Toitū certification.
Working towards a low-carbon future.
Protecting our unique place in the world.
Our proximity to nature is something we New Zealanders hold close to our heart. It’s a large part of what makes our place in the world unique and something we work hard to protect. It’s a life source we can’t do without.
As the largest New Zealand owned life insurer we have a responsibility to future proof our place in the world for the people who live here. We’ve joined New Zealand’s journey towards a lower carbon future with the achievement of a Toitū carbonreduce certification.
Who is Toitū?
“Toitū is to care for the life of this place, our people and future.”
Like Fidelity Life, Toitū is committed to caring for New Zealand’s environment and its people, today and for future generations.
Toitū helps businesses reduce their carbon footprint and be more sustainable. Importantly, they help businesses understand their impact on people and place and direct their care into achievable goals. If you’ve noticed businesses or products with a carbonreduce or net carbonzero certification, then that’s Toitū’s work.
They’re a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, a Government-owned Crown Research Institute, and their programmes are based on global best practise.
Our certification.
As a Toitū carbonreduce certified organisation since 2021, we measure our greenhouse gas emissions each year in accordance with ISO 14064-1:2018, a set of international standards representing global best practice.
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Where we’re at.
Our total net greenhouse gas emissions for the year ended 30-June 2023 were 420 tonnes of carbon dioxide, up from 225 tonnes in 2022, and down from 515 tonnes in 2021.
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How our emissions are measured.
Organisations around the world tend to measure their greenhouse gas emissions in one of two ways:
- GHG Protocol standards group emission sources into Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 activities.
- ISO 14064-1:2018 standards are newer and group emission sources into 6 different Categories, replacing the term ‘Scopes’.
Both sets of standards are widely used and the use of ‘Scopes’ is still widely recognised.*
The table below shows our emissions as Categories and Scopes.
Category
(ISO 14064-1:2018)Scope
(GHG Protocol)GHG emissions (tCO₂e)
2021 2022 2023 Category 1: Direct emissions Scope 1 108.45 39.29 37.94 Category 2: Indirect emissions from imported energy Scope 2 65.95 44.79 25.21 Category 3: Indirect emissions from transportation Scope 3 313.6 129.32 345.66 Category 4: Indirect emissions from products used by organisation 26.94 11.51 11.03 Category 5: Indirect emissions associated with the use of products from the organisation 0 0 0 Category 6: Indirect emissions from other sources 0 0 0 Total net emissions 514.95 224.91 419.84 *Detailed information can be found in the Ministry for the Environment’s Measuring Emissions: A Guide for Organisations (2020)
What are the main sources of our emissions?
Business-related travel is the biggest contributor to our emissions. Our top 4 sources are:
Air travel.
40%
Staff commuting.
34%
Company cars.
8%
Electricity.
6%
As part of our Toitū certification, we’ve set a target to reduce our emissions by 38% by the year 2030.
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Our 2030 targets:
- Reduce Category 1 and 2 (Scope 1 and 2) emissions by 8% from our 2021 base year.
- Reduce mandatory emissions by 38% (all Categories and Scopes combined) from our 2021 base year (intensity target reported as tCO2e per $M operating revenue).
How we’ll aim to get there.
Our office.
Our Auckland office, Fidelity Life House, is a 6 Green star building and exemplifies world leadership in sustainability measures.
Commuting.
We’re encouraging our people to leave their cars at home in favour of getting to and from work using alternatives like cycling, walking and public transport.
Electric company cars.
While we only lease a small number of company (fleet) cars, we’re making the shift from diesel and petrol powered to plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) powered.
Procurement and supply chain.
We’ll be reviewing our procurement processes to understand how we can ensure our partners and suppliers are taking their own steps towards being more sustainable.
Engage 2023.
Our annual conference for financial advisers attracted almost 300 attendees across events in Auckland and Christchurch. Engage 2023 achieved its own Toitū carbonzero event certification.