Simple because it matters.
Our key environmental figures
An important part of our Group-wide environmental and climate protection strategy is the continuous reduction of our resource consumption and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions.
In our reporting on consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we focus on the main direct impacts of our business operations on the environment and climate. These are the consumption of energy, paper and water, the amount of waste we produce and the kilometres travelled on business trips. The resulting greenhouse gas emissions are measured and reported in CO2 equivalents (CO2e).
With our Ambition 2025 climate targets, we aim to move our operational business processes across the Group to net-zero emissions by 2030. The implementation will be gradual: By 2025, we intend to have reduced our GHG emissions (CO2e) across the entire Munich Re Group by twelve percent per employee compared to 2019. Since 2015, we have endeavoured to offset the remaining GHG emissions by purchasing certificates from projects that contribute to a reduction in GHG emissions. When selecting certificates, we pay attention to internationally recognised standards.
General information
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 (base year) |
|
| Total number of staff | 26,178 | 25,693 |
24,974 | 26,727 |
| Staff covered by the survey of environmental indicators (%) | 87.41 | 76,5 |
81.7 | 80.9 |
| Staff working at a site with a certified environmental management system (%) | 72.12 | 64.23 |
58.9 | 45.7 |
1 Additional entities were included in environmental reporting .
2 In 2023, our site in Nuremberg, Germany was certified for the first time.
3 In 2022, our sites in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were certified for the first time.
GHG emissions
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 (base year) |
|
| Total GHG emissions (t CO2e) | 39,3071 | 51,077 |
54,014 | 57,562 |
| Direct GHG emissions from primary energy consumption – Scope 12 (t CO2e) | 25,951 | 36,307 |
39,716 | 36,288 |
| Indirect GHG emissions from procured energy – Scope 23 (t CO2e) | 7,985 | 10,021 |
11,283 | 13,812 |
| Other indirect GHG emissions – Scope 34 (t CO2e) | 5,371 | 4,750 |
3,015 | 7,462 |
| GHG emissions per employee (t CO2e) | 1.502 | 1.988 |
2.163 | 2.154 |
| Total GHG savings since 2019 (%) | 31.71 | 11.27 |
6.16 | |
| GHG savings per employee since 2019 (kg CO2) (%) | 30.28 | 7.70 |
-0.42 |
1 Reduction in GHG emissions due to energy-saving measures and a reduction in office spaces.
2 Direct emissions from primary energy consumption (natural gas, heating oil, emergency diesel power, fuel for company cars).
3 Indirect emissions from procured energy (purchase of electricity, district heating, and district cooling).
4 Other indirect emissions (business trips, consumption of paper and water, waste).
Energy consumption
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 (base year) |
|
| Total direct energy consumption (natural gas, natural gas for CHP1, fuel for emergency generators) (MWh) |
102,486 | 144,735 |
169,780 | 152,369 |
| Natural gas (MWh) | 22,560 | 47,602 |
56,983 | 50,955 |
| Natural gas for CHPs1 (MWh) | 79,402 | 96,411 |
112,153 | 100,940 |
| Fuel for emergency generator (MWh) | 524 | 722 |
644 | 474 |
| Total consumption indirect energy (purchased electricity, district heating, district cooling) (MWh) |
80,993 | 90,951 |
102,946 | 113,472 |
| Purchased electricity (MWh) | 10,211 | 15,748 |
11,338 | 18,964 |
| Procured green electricity (MWh) | 38,920 | 37,596 |
38,779 | 45,787 |
| District cooling (MWh) | 2,565 | 3,446 |
3,824 | 4,343 |
| District heating (MWh) | 29,297 | 34,161 |
49,005 | 44,379 |
| Self-generated electricity (BHKW) (MWh) | 25,793 | 29,537 |
33,939 |
30,422 |
| Percentage of total electricity consumption from green electricity (%) | 79.2 | 70.5 |
77.4 | 70.7 |
| Total GHG emissions from energy (t CO2e) | 28,775 | 39,380 |
45,709 | 44,700 |
| GHG emissions from energy per employee (t CO2e) | 1.099 | 1.533 |
1.830 | 1.672 |
1 Thermal power stations with combined heat and power technology
Consumption of paper1
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 (base year) |
|
| Total consumption of paper (t) | 518 | 580 |
611 | 590 |
| Paper consumption per employee (t) | 0.02 | 0.023 | 0.024 | 0.022 |
| Share of recycled paper2 (%) | 8.7 | 5.53 |
9.7 |
53.9 |
| Total GHG emissions from paper (t CO2e) | 611 | 685 |
721 | 697 |
| GHG emissions from paper per employee (t CO2e) | 0.023 | 0.027 |
0.029 | 0.026 |
1 Printer and copy paper.
2 Decrease in Group-wide share compared to 2019 due to high paper consumption by some international entities with a low share of recycled paper.
3 Deviation from the values reported for 2022 and 2021 due to data corrections.
Water1
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 (base year) |
|
| Total water consumption (m3) | 276,452 | 311,298 |
303,866 |
437,457 |
| Water consumption per employee (m3) | 10.560 | 12.116 |
12.167 |
16.368 |
| Total GHG emissions from water consumption (t CO2e) | 194 | 219 |
214 | 308 |
| GHG emissions from water consumption per employee (t CO2e) | 0.007 | 0.009 |
0.009 | 0.012 |
1 Our locations withdraw their water from the local (municipal) networks. Our waste water is discharged sanitary water.
Waste
1 The type of waste disposal greatly depends on the respective infrastructure for waste disposal and local regulations. Wherever possible, waste and recyclable materials are separated, recycled and disposed of by regional service suppliers.
2 Deviation from the values reported for 2021 due to data corrections.
Business travel
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 (base year) |
|
| Total business travel (km) | 78,692,830 | 67,676,093 |
43,734,729 |
102,969,152 |
| Air travel (km) | 23,789,989 | 16,624,637 |
4,633,900 |
40,094,092 |
| Automotive travel (company cars, hire vehicles) (km) | 41,285,696 | 42,197,792 |
35,536,669 |
48,167,780 |
| Rail travel and long distance bus travel1 (km) | 13,617,1452 | 10,473,2572,3 | 3,564,161 |
14,707,280 |
| Business travel per employee (km) | 3,006 | 2,634 |
1,751 | 3,853 |
| Total GHG emissions for business travel (t CO2e) | 8,210 | 9,188 |
5,991 | 10,177 |
| GHG emissions for business travel per employee (t CO2e) | 0.31 | 0.36 |
0.24 |
0.38 |
1 Long distance rail travel with Deutsche Bahn and Austrian railways (ÖBB) is based on green electricity and does not generate GHG emissions.
2 Increase in mileage due to recording of long-distance bus trips and shift from air to rail travel in Germany.
3 Deviation from the values reported for 2022 due to data corrections.
Notes on the environmental indicators:
An important part of our Group-wide environmental and climate protection strategy is the continuous reduction of our resource consumption and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions.
In our reporting on consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, we focus on the main direct impacts of our business operations on the environment and climate. These are the consumption of energy, paper and water, the amount of waste we produce and the kilometres travelled on business trips. The resulting greenhouse gas emissions are measured and reported in CO2 equivalents (CO2e). All consumption data that was not available at the reporting date was estimated. We extrapolate the measured consumption data to the number of employees of the fully consolidated companies of the ERGO Group at the end of the respective reporting year. The consumption of resources per employee refers to in-house staff and salaried field staff. Self-employed sales agents are not included in the environmental indicators.
The quantitative figures are quality assured externally as part of Munich Re's non-financial reporting.
Internationally recognised conversion factors such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG), the Association for Environmental Management and Sustainability in Financial Institutions (VfU) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) are used to calculate Group-wide GHG emissions. Where possible, individual conversion factors, e.g. for company cars, are used. A market-based approach is used to calculate Scope 2 emissions from electricity consumption, taking into account that in 2023 a share of 79.2 % stemmed from renewable energy sources and was be calculated as emission-free. For the remaining electricity consumption, country-specific conversion factors from IEA were used, derived from the average local electricity mix.
Sources of Greenhouse gas emissions:
Scope 1
Direct emissions from primary energy consumption (natural gas, heating oil, emergency diesel generators, fuel for company cars)
Scope 2
Indirect emissions from procured energy (purchase of electricity, district heating, and district cooling)
Scope 3
Other indirect emissions (business trips, consumption of paper and water, waste)