•£50m invested into over 950 low-carbon and renewable projects globally
•Reduction achieved while tripling customers and increasing revenue by over 40%
Bupa today announced that it reduced its total carbon emissions by 23% at the end of 2015 compared to its 2009 baseline. Verified by the Carbon Trust, this exceeds the target the company set in 2010 of a 20% reduction.
Bupa achieved this reduction while growing as a business – tripling the number of customers, increasing revenue by over 40% and with over 30,000 more people now working at Bupa.
In 2013, Bupa became the first health and care company to be awarded the global Carbon Trust Standard certification for its work on measuring, managing and reducing its carbon emissions. The link between health and environment has been emphasised by the World Health Organization, who estimate that one in eight premature deaths globally can be attributed to air pollution. The toxic gases released from burning fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emitted into our atmosphere is linked to heart disease, stroke, cancer and respiratory diseases.
In 2014 Bupa established an Energy Saver Fund which has funded over 950 low-carbon and renewable energy projects across sites around the world. The money has been used to install 233 solar installations in Bupa buildings from Madrid to Melbourne, and from London to Delhi, generating green electricity on their rooftops, alongside many other energy-saving projects.
•400 energy-saving projects have been undertaken in Australia and New Zealand – Bupa is now the largest private operator of rooftop solar in Australia
•In the UK 89 combined heat and power units and 101 solar have been installed
•At Bupa’s head office in London the electricity is now 100% renewable and there are solar panels on the roof
•In Spain, the electricity used is 99% renewable
•In India, solar power has been installed in Delhi at the office of Bupa’s joint venture, Max Bupa, in one of the world’s most polluted cities
•Bupa’s premium global health insurance business now buys 45% of its electricity from renewable sources instead of from fossil fuel sources such as coal or natural gas
Stuart Fletcher, CEO of Bupa, said: “Reducing our carbon footprint is essential for us a health and care company. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths globally. Every step Bupa takes towards reducing carbon emissions contributes to our purpose of longer, healthier, happier lives. Surpassing our carbon reduction target is a fantastic achievement and I’m very proud of the way our people have worked together to ensure we got there.
This is a huge milestone, but the journey doesn’t stop here. We’re continuing to invest in low-carbon and renewable energy projects through our Environment Saver Fund (ESF), and expanding to also fund water and waste projects.”
Darran Messem, Managing Director of Certification at the Carbon Trust, said:
“We have been working with Bupa since 2012, providing independent assurance of continuous success in reducing environmental impacts around the world. Bupa is currently the only healthcare provider to receive global certification to the Carbon Trust Standard, demonstrating tangible progress in improving sustainability across all operations. This is not easy to achieve and requires strong leadership and an embedded culture of sustainability, which has driven Bupa forward to meet ambitious targets.”
Bupa has also increased its use of electricity from certified renewable sources, and now gets over 35% of its electricity in this way. Bupa aims to double its use of renewable electricity by 2020.
