issue 019, 2022 q3

Community spotlight

our evolving commitment to ESG

BY HEATHER LAWLEY
global head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social and governance (ESG)

Since Sedgwick’s inception, acting with purpose has been an integral part of our mission. This is reflected in our decades-long commitment to social action, honorable business practices, and caring for all — our colleagues, clients, communities and the planet.

As Sedgwick grows, so does our strategic approach to environmental, social and governance initiatives. We have developed an intentional, multiyear strategy designed to maximize our global impact by 2030.

Reducing environmental harm

Sedgwick is committed to caring for the environment, and we’ve built that into our ESG framework.

There are the small, incremental steps: for example, urging colleagues to shut down computers and turn off lights when not in use, switching to reusable bottles, paring down packaging, and conserving water. There are also sizable initiatives whose impact we’re already seeing.

Sedgwick is working to decrease its carbon footprint by minimizing non-essential business travel, using virtual site inspection tools when possible, reducing the size of our car fleet, increasing our use of electric and hybrid vehicles, and more. Many of our teams have transitioned to hybrid work environments post-COVID. In doing so, we’ve taken action to reduce our collective greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Other key environmental initiatives include reducing our e-waste tonnage and paper use. Through technology repair programs, donations and partnerships with reputable recycling companies, we’re extending the useful life of systems and lessening our e-waste and its harmful toxins. To cut down on paper use, Sedgwick goes digital whenever possible, including leveraging QR codes and converting business cards, brochures and other materials from paper to digital. These strategies have enabled one of our business units to reduce its use of paper by 46% since last year. Other divisions are eagerly following their lead.

In addition, we have a longstanding tradition of providing environmentally-focused solutions to assist clients in effectively managing their own impact on the planet. Sedgwick’s brand protection division helps clients respond quickly to potentially harmful product recalls, and our repair solutions division chooses sustainable construction options whenever possible. Our EFI Global team offers engineering, fire investigation and environmental consulting solutions to help clients minimize the adverse impact of an event before, during and after it occurs.

Fostering a strong social fabric

Just as Sedgwick is deeply committed to preserving the natural world, we also are dedicated to supporting the larger social environment. Caring for our 30,000 colleagues, as well as our clients and the worldwide communities in which we operate, is an active, intentional process. It starts with ensuring that our social fabric is structured to foster diversity, equity and inclusion. DEI is woven into the culture of our organization and embedded in our people practices, including hiring, development, performance management and the colleague experience. We believe this is critical to creating a work environment where every person can thrive.

Community engagement is and has always been integral to our social strategy. Sedgwick provides charitable contributions to organizations that do good in the world — specifically those that are aligned with our company and people strategies and the causes our colleagues and clients value.  We also provide hardship grants to colleagues in need through our Sedgwick Family Fund.

Sedgwick has a supplier diversity program to ensure that our vendor profile reflects the diversity of our customer base. We aim to strategically develop and diversify our supplier base and opportunities for socio-economically disadvantaged businesses. It is making a tangible difference: Over the past four years, we have more than doubled our annual percentage of spending on subcontracts to and procurements from diverse and disadvantaged business enterprises, including those owned by women, military veterans and ethnic minorities.

A high standard of ethics and values

We also have a multipronged governance strategy that reflects our steadfast commitment of more than 50 years to business ethics, data privacy and security. We strive to do the right thing, operate in line with our caring counts philosophy, and uphold the highest ethical standards. Our strong foundation in this area is one reason why more than 10,000 clients around the world entrust Sedgwick with their claims.

We recognize the importance of customer data and have robust programs in place that not only ensure a high level of security, but also proactively identify and protect against threats. Our suite of global policies provides colleagues with procedural guidelines and reinforces the importance of privacy, confidentiality, security and ethics in our everyday work. A combination of technical safeguards and well-informed colleagues helps to ensure the security of our customers’ data.

Privacy is core to Sedgwick’s operating procedures, and regulatory and legal compliance is an essential component of our solutions. Privacy and data resources are embedded throughout the organization for the important purpose of facilitating compliance with global data protection laws. We are always looking for ways to do it more efficiently and effectively.

Sedgwick’s commitment to ESG initiatives is not new; it’s simply evolving and deepening with time. As a global organization, we are working diligently to harness our role as responsible stewards of the planet, while taking care of people and organizations with the services we provide. Our ESG strategy not only encapsulates Sedgwick’s current commitments and solutions, but also looks to the future as we plan for these and other initiatives in the coming years.

At Sedgwick, we put our values into tangible action, and by doing so we will maximize our collective impact by 2030. Together, we can strengthen our social fabric, protect the environment, and stay true to our commitment to care for each other — always.

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