Company's Response to Carbon Disclosure Project Released Today
SAINT PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 2007--Recognizing
that the earth's climate may be changing in a way that poses serious
challenges to society, Travelers (NYSE:TRV) has taken action intended
to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, encourage
environmentally responsible behavior and conserve natural resources.
These efforts are described in a report to be issued today by the
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a coalition of global investors
interested in examining the risks and opportunities facing the world's
largest publicly traded companies due to climate change.
"As a major property casualty insurer, we focus on the evolving
insurance requirements caused by changing climate conditions to
address consumers' needs," said Robert Flynn, Travelers vice president
of strategic policy. "We regularly seek to identify and pursue
opportunities for innovation to protect our customers' physical assets
and financial future."
In its fourth year participating in the CDP report, Travelers
highlights its actions to address the implications of climate change
on its business in three major areas: risk management, insurance
products and services, and corporate operations.
Risk Management
Travelers seeks to raise awareness of climate change and thereby
mitigate the effects by:
- Initiating a series of business continuity planning workshops
for commercial policyholders in catastrophe-prone regions;
- Providing strong support to the Institute of Business and Home
Safety (IBHS) to promote property damage mitigation
strategies; and
- Sponsoring the National Hurricane Survival Initiative to
promote hurricane preparedness through various media and a
dedicated Web site at www.hurricanesafety.org.
Products and Services
Committed to staying in-synch with customers' ever-changing needs,
Travelers established its own Climate Change Committee, a
cross-functional team working to identify emerging risks that may
require new underwriting strategies or the development of new types of
coverage that are responsive to a changing climate. Some examples
include:
- The first national insurance discount of 10% for hybrid
drivers, providing incentive for individuals to minimize their
impact on the environment;
- New Generation Boiler & Machinery product, which provides for
the replacement of damaged equipment with "equipment which
improves the environment, increases efficiency or enhances
safety"; and
- Insurance programs tailored to emerging clean energy
technology such as wind power farms.
Corporate Operations
As a large financial services company with more than 30,000
employees across the United States, Travelers is taking steps to
reduce its impact on the environment:
- Travelers' two main campuses in St. Paul and Hartford have
been certified as "Energy Star" by the EPA for energy
efficiency.
- Regarding carbon emissions reduction, the company has joined
the Business Roundtable Climate Resolve Initiative Group and
the EPA's Climate Leaders Program to better understand how to
measure and assess results of reduction programs and to
establish measurements.
- Travelers also participates in, and responds to, external
climate change initiatives such as CERES, the Carbon
Disclosure Project and the Minnesota Governor's Climate Change
Task Force.
Travelers' complete response to the Carbon Disclosure Project
questionnaire is available online at www.travelers.com in the
Corporate Responsibility section.
About Travelers
Travelers understands that life and business are inherently
dynamic and that the best way to serve agents, brokers and
policyholders is to deliver insurance that evolves to stay in-synch
with life and business as they change. For more information on being
in-synch, visit www.travelers.com.
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) is a leading property
casualty insurer selling primarily through independent agents and
brokers. The company's diverse business lines offer its global
customers a wide range of coverage in both the personal and commercial
settings, including automobile, homeowners, construction, small
business, oil and gas, ocean marine, bond and financial products,
global technology and public sector services. Travelers is a Fortune
100 company, with 2006 revenues of $25.09 billion and total assets of
$113.76 billion. The company has approximately 33,000 employees.
CONTACT: The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Media:
Jennifer Wislocki, 860-277-7458
or
Marlene Ibsen, 860-277-9039
or
Institutional Investors:
Michael Connelly, 860-277-1507
or
Individual Investors:
Marc Parr, 860-277-0779
SOURCE: The Travelers Companies, Inc.