Sustainability in our Operational Management

Sustainable procurement

Our procurement processes aim to achieve the best value for money for our activities, products and services, while ensuring they meet the business and compliance needs of the UNIQA Group and adhere to sustainability standards.

Our Group Procurement Policy embeds our procurement process model and reflects our strong commitment to high social and environmental values, including the integrity of our suppliers and the strict prohibition of corruption and bribery. 
The UNIQA Group is committed to upholding high social and environmental standards. This includes striving to establish business relationships only with suppliers who align with our value model and demonstrate a high degree of integrity. As part of the supplier registration process (onboarding new suppliers), key aspects such as company master data, financial stability/credit worthiness, certifications (e.g., ISO), and compliance with laws and conventions are requested and verified.
In July 2023, the UNIQA Code of Conduct (covering human rights, labor standards, environmental protection, and anti-corruption) was further integrated into the supplier registration process. As part of supplier qualification, the largest suppliers are evaluated annually. In addition, enhanced security, data protection, and ESG aspects are assessed and reviewed. These processes are the responsibility of the procurement function.

Increasing energy efficiency and reducing emissions 

In the measures to reduce our CO₂ emissions, we rely on the one hand on the application of international certifications and standards in our dealings with suppliers - from office materials to the vehicle fleet - and on the other hand on the optimization of internal environmental management. We are making greater use of renewable energies and reducing CO₂ emissions by consistently conserving resources and promoting climate-friendly mobility. Environmental issues in our own operations fall within the remit of the Chief Operating Officer and are the responsibility of Group Procurement, with a primary focus on our largest core market Austria.

The basis of our internal environmental management is our commitment to the Paris climate targets, which we have operationalized with an initial milestone and action plan for all sales locations in Austria in 2022. This plan includes the following cornerstones: 

With these measures, we aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our distribution buildings by around 71 per cent by 2040. As we continue to rely on district heating, which currently still contains a fossil component, a full 100 per cent reduction is not yet feasible. However, as the district heating networks become increasingly greener, our climate performance will also improve accordingly. Further details can be found in our annual Sustainability Report available in our Sustainability Downloads Area.

Validated SBTi Interim targets

At the Group level, we successfully completed the process of calculating and validating science-based climate targets in 2023, in accordance with the "Science Based Targets initiative" (SBTi). These targets align not only our investments with the 1.5-degree climate target pathway of the Paris Agreement but also the greenhouse gas emissions from our own operations (direct Scope 1 emissions and indirect Scope 2 emissions from purchased electricity and heat).

Further information can be found in the summary of the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

SBTi Summary

E-Mobility at UNIQA Austria 

The ambitious goal of the UNIQA Group's fleet management is to reduce the CO₂ emissions of the company fleet in Austria to 40 grams per kilometer by the end of 2024. While an average value of 95 grams was achieved in 2020, we were already able to reduce this to 69 grams in 2022. Since 2023, only purely electric vehicles have been purchased.

The expansion of the e-charging infrastructure at our sites is in full swing, and we have installed e-charging stations at 39 sales locations. A total of 81 wall boxes with 133 charging points have been integrated so far, and the total installed charging capacity is around 1,900 kW. Since 2023, e-charging stations have been installed at all new locations and the charging infrastructure is being expanded at our regional head offices to give employees the opportunity to charge at work.

We also promote other forms of e-mobility in a targeted manner: modern e-scooters and e-bikes are available to our employees at the UNIQA headquarters in Vienna and at several other locations for smaller business trips.

Introduction of an environmental management system in accordance with EMAS

Building on our sustainability strategy, the measures already implemented, and, most notably, our membership in the Green Finance Alliance, UNIQA introduced an environmental management system in Austria in accordance with EMAS and successfully certified it through the relevant authorities.   

EMAS, the Eco Management and Audit Scheme, is an EU regulation for the voluntary improvement of operational environmental performance. Key areas such as energy efficiency, emissions, material efficiency, waste generation, water consumption and biodiversity, as well as their upstream and downstream processes, are considered and evaluated. The environmental program drawn up based on this analysis contains specific environmental targets that are in line with our environmental policy. As environmental protection is an integral part of our corporate culture, transparency and internal and external communication play a key role. Regular internal and external audits ensure the effectiveness of the environmental management system and compliance with all environmentally relevant legal requirements. In this way, we set a good example and continue to successively reduce the ecological footprint of our own operations.