CSAA IG 2023 Impact Report 0424 Rev1 - Flipbook - Page 12
Planet
Our Impact
2023
BACK TO TOP
From Our Interim CEO
Planet
People
Practice
Active resource management
We look at every aspect of our operations to identify areas of efficiency to optimize how we use resources across the business.
{
Our Go Green Benefit Program
This decarbonization strategy offers employees financial incentives to purchase
green electricity for home offices, supports employees with solar energy and encourages
climate-friendly commuting for in-office employees.
}
Energy
Energy use continues to be one of
our top sources of currently measured
emissions—and also our area of
greatest progress. With 90% of our
employees working permanently
from home, we have seen our office
electricity emissions drop 67%
between 2016 and 2023. Workfrom-home electricity emissions
now make up 48% of total electricity
emissions. This result was driven
by a wide variety of actions, from
reducing our real estate footprint and
using smart technology to powering
down electricity when not in use.
We also use preventive maintenance
to identify equipment efficiencies,
thereby reducing energy usage and
carbon emissions.
For all the environmental benefits
of working from home, the fact is
we had better control over CSAA’s
energy emissions when most
employees went to offices; it’s been
more of a challenge to influence a
reduction in employee work-fromhome emissions. With that in mind,
in 2023 we worked on developing the
Go Green Benefit program for launch
in 2024. This decarbonization strategy
offers employees financial incentives
to purchase green electricity for
home offices, supports employees
with solar energy and encourages
climate-friendly commuting for inoffice employees.
Shifting to working from home also
significantly reduced our real estate
footprint. In the years following COVID,
CSAA consolidated the Oakland (Calif.)
law office into the Walnut Creek (Calif.)
facility and further reduced the
footprint in Oklahoma City and Menlo
Park (Calif.). We commissioned an
energy assessment and sustainability
audit at our largest owned facility
(Walnut Creek) to ensure we were
operating the building at its optimal
efficiency. These efforts are helping
us strive toward our decarbonization
targets, and we will continue to focus
on these areas as we refine how and
where we work.
The purchase of renewable energy
certificates (RECs) continues to
play an important role in our shift to
green electricity that began in 2021.
By purchasing RECs, we help reduce
our carbon footprint and drive an
increased demand for development
of green energy projects across the
utility-provider landscape.
Last, after significant progress
transitioning to hybrid vehicles
(>90% of fleet), CSAA began testing
all-electric vehicles for anticipated
expanded use in the vehicle fleet. In
2024 we will continue to further test
adoption of all-electric and plug-in
hybrid vehicles into the fleet.
