Managing director says quick changes help show ’that you care about the world around you and your people’

The “biggest question” among brokers – especially smaller firms – is “what do we do to get started” when addressing environmental, social and governance (ESG), according to Yutree managing director Laura Hancock.

Hancock was speaking as part of a panel – entitled ESG for brokers – what to do? – at the Biba conference yesterday (11 May 2023), where she highlighted the importance of “quick wins” and senior leadership driving change from the top down.

Hancock highlighted that quick wins for Yutree included changing its office lighting to LED lights, introducing more recycling, installing electric car charging points and implementing wellbeing workshops for staff.

“All of these things build up and give you a culture that basically shows that you care about the world around you and your people,” she said.

Policies 

Commercial insurance broker and underwriting agency Yutree was established in 2011 and currently employs 24 people.

Hancock said that the broker had supported local organisations like theatre groups and produced policies to better its ESG stance.

“For a business of our size, [producing policies] may seem disproportionate, but actually they show that we’re thinking about things like menopause and we’ve got a mental health policy which talks about how we deal with mental health in the workplace”, she said.

More to follow…