Environmental footprint management
Learn how we coordinate a network of dedicated environmental managers and aggressive environmental performance targets to reduce consumption and emissions across our business.
AXA, as a responsible company, is committed to address climate change through its core operations. An environmental management system is in place since 2012 including an annual reporting of Group CO2 emissions from energy consumption, car fleet and business travel. Water consumption, paper consumption, waste production and recycling are other dimensions monitored in the reporting.
AXA’s environmental footprint is published in AXA Unique Registration document as part of the chapter 4 Sustainability.
In 2020 the Group renewed its engagements and set an additional carbon reduction target and commit itself to offset the remaining emissions. This engagement is part of the AXA for Progress Index.
Between 2019 and 2022 AXA’s GHG emissions decreased by 48% (related to energy consumption, business travel, car fleet, and IT equipment and services).
In 2022, the total energy consumption for AXA was 236,986 MWh of which 133,840 MWh of renewable energy and 103,147 MWh of non-renewable energy.
AXA’s 2019-2025 CO2 emissions reduction targets are based on the approach promoted by the “Science Based Targets” (SBT) initiative, which AXA joined in 2015. AXA used the "Decarbonation Sector Approach" to produce new set of targets:
Under GHG protocol classification, AXA target translates into:
AXA Scope 1&2 target of -31% has been submitted to the SBTi in 2021. Approval is pending to the submission and approval of our Scope 3 investment CO2 footprint.
This objective is part of a broader framework that integrates among others the new measures related to AXA’s IT activities and which translates into an overall reduction of the Group’s CO2 emissions of -20% by 2025 compared to 2019 (energy, car fleet, business travel and office automation and IT activities perimeter).
To reduce its other environmental impacts, AXA also set targets on other components:
AXA activities have gone more and more digital over the last years. The COVID-19 crisis further accelerated the transformation of the Group way of working, most employees working remotely full or part time. However, digital activities are proved to have a strong environmental footprint via the extensive use of energy and raw material to build ever more sophisticated devices.
In 2020, AXA initiated a “Digital Sustainability” program led by AXA Group Operations, with Corporate Responsibility team support, covering all AXA entities. This program aims at measuring the carbon footprint of AXA’s digital activities, considering the different components (usage, equipment, data centers and services) in a holistic way. AXA’s digital impact is disclosed for the first time.
AXA Group measures the carbon footprint of its digital activities, which amounts to 36,870 t.eq.CO2 in 2022 (Market-based). This footprint divides into four main categories:
Measuring is the first step to reduce environmental footprint. The next step will involve target setting and yearly monitoring.
For complete information about AXA’s environmental footprint management, please refer to the Sustainability chapter of our Universal Registration Document.
As part of the AXA for Progress Index, AXA is committed to reduce by 20% its CO2 emissions between 2019 and 2025 and to offset the remaining emissions.
AXA is carbon neutral for its operations since full year 2020. The offsetting of full year 2022 CO2 residual emissions (112,728 t.eq.CO2) was done by supporting two projects in China and Indonesia described below:
Offsetting own operations’ CO2 emissions enables AXA to match with internal and external stakeholders' expectations. Combined with emissions reduction, it helps engaging the company in energy efficiency initiatives and drive change in the way facilities, car fleet, business travel and IT equipment and services are managed. To do so, AXA is engaging its employees but also with its suppliers to find less carbon intensive solutions. Finally, offsetting helps to prepare to potential GHG regulations or increase in tax or energy price.