ILC ARTICLE

Getting ahead of the legislative curve

19th July 2022

Legislation was the subject of one of five panel debates held during The Environmental Challenges of Property Claims event, a specialist ILC event which took place at etc.venues in London in June.

Supported by headline sponsor CoreLogic and sponsors Gateley Vinden, Polygon, QuestGates, RSK Group and JCS Jewellery, the event considered how the environmental agenda is playing an ever-increasing role in home claims, and how the home sector is responding.

Taking part in the debate – ‘Legislation, deadlines, requirements and realities’ – were Alastair Smith, Head of Procurement Operations, Direct Line Group; Sarah Dodd, Founder of Tree Law; and Jeremy Sykes, Chief Strategy Officer, Polygon Europe.

Growing support

A key message to emerge from the discussion was the growing support for the green agenda among consumers, and how that meant raising sustainability up the list of priorities – even before legislation forced them to do it – made good business sense for organisations.

Sarah said, “Insurers are being held accountable by consumers. They want to know how their claim is being managed and how that compares to the climate declaration their insurer made a year ago. I think that is more impactful than legislation, so the commercial impetus is what will give the insurance industry the edge.”

Ahead of the curve

Jeremy agreed. He said that UK legislation around the environment is actually tougher than anywhere else in Europe, but across the industry companies are now trying to get ahead of the curve.

He said, “We aim to halve our 2018 emissions by 2030 and halve them again by 2040 and then again by 2050. Only by doing that will we get somewhere near to achieving these targets. It’s a big challenge, but you can break it down into smaller, practical steps that you can take, such as using technology better to reduce visits.”

Great opportunities

He also pointed out that the UK housing stock is the oldest in Europe, meaning there were great opportunities for energy saving in preventative measures, such as improved insulation.

Meanwhile, Alastair said DLG had signed up to science-based targets and was aiming to halve emissions by 2030 and reduce them to zero by 2050. He explained that 95% of DLG’s carbon footprint comes from its supply chain and it will work with supply partners in the coming years to dramatically reduce that.