The Clear Group is committed to achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2030. We are the first insurance broker to set this commitment through the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). To do this, we will be reducing our carbon footprint from a 2019 baseline by 30%. This is a long timeframe, so to make a positive impact straight away, we have become carbon neutral through the purchase of carbon credits. These carbon credits or offsets help finance clean energy projects in emerging countries through ClimateCare.

The SBTi is a coalition established in 2015 with the aim to enable companies to set emission reduction targets in line with leading climate science. It is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and WWF.

We have spent 12 months collecting and analysing data on the environmental impact and carbon footprint of the business, and we announced our Net Zero commitment in April 2021.

We started by upgrading our IT suite, which has allowed the business to reduce the number of IT facilities required. This action fulfils one of the key carbon net-zero initiatives and will help reduce power consumption across the business.

Another source of carbon emissions for Clear has been business travel. We are determined to address how to make business journeys more environmentally sustainable in the future. Staff are now keeping a more detailed record of their business mileage and flights as this information will be essential in reporting carbon emissions accurately each year.

Speaking about Clear's Net Zero commitment, Dan Innes, Director said:

"We carefully considered the impact that we want to have on the world and consider it imperative to reduce our carbon emissions significantly. We saw that the best way to do this was through a credible process aligned to science, which is exactly what the SBTi offers. We can only encourage other SMEs and large businesses alike to develop a science-based net zero strategy."

"We have ten years to achieve a 30% reduction in our emissions, which is ambitious but necessary. Our first initiatives are just the start of a long and challenging but absolutely vital project, and we have a great deal more to do in tackling the causes of climate change."

What we have done so far

Over the past year, Clear have been collecting and analysing our impact on the environment. We now know what our carbon footprint is – how much carbon we use through computers or turning the lights on, for example. We have been carbon neutral since 2019/20 and will maintain this going forward. Therefore, we have purchased carbon credits (offsets) to finance clean energy projects in emerging countries through ClimateCare.

We have decided that we want to be in the leading pack of companies working towards reducing carbon emissions and we have therefore agreed to reduce our carbon emissions in line with a ‘net-zero’ target. This means that we will have to reduce our carbon footprint by 30%, against our 2019 baseline, by 2030. After that date, all remaining ‘unavoidable’ carbon emissions will be covered by credits purchased to avoid carbon being emitted to the atmosphere. This target is what is known as a Science Based Target – one which is aligned to the internationally agreed targets ratified by the Paris Agreement.