Speak to most larger brokers and they can reel off a list of their sustainability practices as long as a wind turbine’s mast.For example, JMG Group – which has 700 employees – commits to everything from flexible working and vetting suppliers’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies to providing electric car schemes, plant a tree initiatives and allowing employees time off to help local charities.Among smaller brokers, however, the picture is much more fragmented because they lack the same resources as the big firms. Plus – unlike many larger counterparts – these brokers don’t have to satisfy equity investors with formal ESG policies.Kathryn Knowles, co-managing director at Cura Insurance – a broker employing 19 people based in North Yorkshire’s Filey – has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in sustainable business practices.She told Insurance Times: “Any small firm’s managing director has limited time to focus on non-core areas, so you either have to import external expertise, do nothing, or try and do it yourself, which can drive you crazy and result in getting it very wrong.”Glowing ESG examplesWhere smaller brokers do boast zealous sustainability commitments, this is typically because they are involved in business areas highly vulnerable to climate change.For example, Ash Tree Insurance Brokers – a predominantly agricultural broker based in Selby, North Yorkshire, that has three employees –speaks to farmers daily about environmental issues.Its client meetings are mostly conducted using video calls, but any in-person visits are made via a low emission 1.6 litre diesel car. All office equipment is bought second-hand and the business is largely paperless. But, for clients that want communications in writing, the broker is starting to charge £10 for anything posted – this money is used to plant a tree.Thomas Jones, director at Ash Tree Insurance Brokers, said: “Selby is very prone to flooding and a crop can’t survive more than four or five days underwater. So, [a focus on ESG is] central to our risk management and business interruption planning.“Any small steps anyone can take will help produce important marginal gains.”Family businesses can also be highly conscious of the impact of climate change on the next generation.This has been a major consideration for Pantaenius, a Plymouth and Southampton-based yacht and boat broker with 30 employees, which commits to avoiding putting toxic substances in the water by subscribing to the Green Blue Boating Pledge.The Green Blue Boating Pledge – created in 2022 – is a joint environmental programme between trade associations the Royal Yachting Association and British Marine, designed to encourage a more sustainable recreational boating sector.Furthermore, one member of Pantaenius’ staff has specific responsibility for looking at ways of limiting its internal carbon emissions, meaning the office has refillable water bottles, as well as ethically sourced and
Dom. Gen 5th, 2025
