NRMA calls on customers to join sustainability drive

NRMA calls on customers to join sustainability drive | Insurance Business Australia

Environmental

NRMA calls on customers to join sustainability drive

Climate change a ‘huge problem to tackle’, group says

Environmental

By
Roxanne Libatique

NRMA Insurance (NRMA) has invited its customers to sign up to its carbon offset program, part of NRMA’s Net-zero by 2050 Climate and Disaster Resilience Action Plan, to help reduce their carbon footprints and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

NRMA called for customers to calculate their yearly driving carbon emissions and offset them by making a one-off payment annually.

“Climate change is a huge problem to tackle, but carbon offsetting helps individuals to take small steps that can help,” NRMA said in an update. “By telling us details about your vehicle and how much you drive each year, you can calculate the cost to offset your estimated annual driving emissions.”

Carbon offset program

The carbon offset program was developed with the support of Tasman Environmental Markets, which provided the calculation method to work out vehicles’ estimated yearly driving emissions, in addition to purchasing and retiring offsets.

The money is invested in carbon offset projects. Such projects are compliant under the Australian government’s Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard, and the projects being accredited under a third-party verification standard, NRMA said.

NRMA supports the following carbon offset projects:

bush regeneration – working with farmers and landowners in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) to regenerate land and protect native vegetation;
renewable energy – supporting wind and solar energy projects in Asia that employ local workers to boost local economies and village services; and
rainforest protection – maintaining rich forest habitats in South America, Oceania, and Africa to secure wildlife habitat and support local communities.

The carbon offset program has seen NRMA offset over 100,000 tonnes of carbon over the past 12 months.

“That’s how much carbon five million trees absorb every year, or the equivalent of taking 20,000 cars off the road,” the insurer said. “A medium-sized car releases about a third of its weight in carbon dioxide emissions every month.”