Over the last several years there has been a focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Investors, management, and the public see tremendous value in the positive environment and social impact of good corporate governance. We must all do our part to ensure the health of the planet, the protection of all species, and the happiness & health of humanity.

At Verita, Risk Advisory Services (RAS) has adopted a slogan of “People Protection People”. Our objective is not only providing insurance coverage to cover loss and damages, but to keep you safe and in doing so protect the planet as well. It is true that by preventing losses we can be profitable and by being profitable we can prevent more accidents and injuries.

The United Nations report of 2004 in partnership with the financial services industry is believed to be the beginning of the ESG movement. The report entitled “Who Cares Wins”, predicts that those who participate in this noble cause will have a better future.

So how is RAS contributing? Let’s start with our focus on property protection. We have expertise in predicting the likelihood of a fire occurring, the propagation of the fire and the technology to detect and control it to minimize damages.

The carbon footprint left by a building that is destroyed by fire is enormous. First, we have products of combustion. To name a few, these include Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, and Nitrogen Dioxide. As plastics are now a larger component in building materials, we now have dioxins, formaldehydes, phthalates, and many others. These are major environmentally damaging chemicals.

In addition to the airborne contaminates, there are significant ground and water pollutants from fire. To extinguish a fire, water hose streams are utilized. Each 2 ½ in inch hose line produces a flow of about 250 gallons per minute. A home fire might use two hose streams for an hour or 30,000 gallons of water. This water picks up chemicals from the fire which are now absorbed into the ground or flow above ground to streams and rivers. The impact of a warehouse or industrial fire will be many times worse.

Now we must replace the building lost to a fire. This rebuilding process adds more to the carbon footprint. Many new raw materials and products are required. These materials include steel and other metals, drywall, concrete, wood, plastics, asphalt, et al. Building products include toilets, carpeting, electrical fixtures as well as the contents destroyed by fire like desks, chairs, filing cabinets, computers, and many many more.

We must believe that our role makes a difference in the environment and society. We are People Protecting People.

Think of the tons of raw material and energy required to reproduce the property. For example, typical carpet is made of a nylon polyester blend. These are plastics which are petroleum-based products. A 50,000 sq ft office building would require about 25 tons of carpet. This is only for the floor finish.

The cost of an injury or even worse a death also has an impact on the environment and certainly the lives of the many people affected. It is not as easily measured as a property loss but has a greater impact on the community. There is the cost of medical treatment, loss of productivity, the pain and suffering and the impact on the workplace and family. These are social and ecologic impacts. At Veritas RAS, we do our very best to identify accident, as well as the severity, potential and recommend ways to minimize or eliminate the chance of injury.

I recently hired a machinery safety professional. In the interview, he stated that in his current job he visited a company that had an unsafe practice of moving large metal dies for repair and re-installation. He developed an improvement in their protocol to prevent an injury and delivered the recommendation as critical. The changes were not made in time for a worker who lost his life in the performance of this function. Occasionally non-compliance results in a tragedy.

We salute all those engaged in safety and security. They include the hundreds of Certified Safety Professionals in the insurance industry. It is like the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

Jimmy Stewart’s role as George Bailey did not recognize the positive impact he had on the community. It wasn’t until the angel, Clarence Odbody, showed him what life would be like in Bedford Falls if he had never been born.

Our Risk Advisory Services staff cannot point to the building that did not burn down or the injuries that we prevented as by being there it never happened.

Disclaimer

The information contained herein is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice and should not be relied upon in lieu of consultation with your own legal and/or other professional advisors. Some of the information, examples and suggestions presented in this material may be compiled by third-party sources we consider to be reliable; however, we do not guarantee and are not responsible for the accuracy of such information. We assume no duty in contract, tort, or otherwise in connection with this publication and expressly disclaim, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any liability in connection with this publication. Verita CSG, Inc. does not undertake to update the information included herein after the date of publication. Accordingly, readers should be aware that certain content may have changed since the date of this publication.