Environmental commitment

image of hands holding a plant in soil 

Our environmental stewardship

We are proud to support responsible initiatives that minimize our impact on the environment and help create sustainable communities. We work hard to achieve this goal through conservation efforts, affiliations with organizations committed to developing sustainable communities, and fostering a culture of responsibility among our employees.

Conservation

Ranked #78 on the list of the top 100 Greenest Companies in America.
Newsweek 2010
Our conservation programs are designed to minimize operational waste and ensure compliance with environmental regulations. A few of the many programs in place at Unum include a ride-share initiative for employees, extensive virtual meeting capabilities, growing recycling programs, energy-efficient building upgrades and a lessening reliance on paper due to electronic document processing and storage.

One of only five insurance companies named to the North American index.
2011 Dow Jones Sustainability North American Index
Although there are a number of environmental programs in place at Unum, we are constantly looking at ways to enhance our sustainability endeavors. Backed by the passion of our employees for environmental responsibility, we are developing tactics that will establish carbon reduction objectives, pursue energy credits and continue reducing the amount of trash sent to landfills.
Building for the environment

Approximately 31% of Unum's leased facilities are located in a LEED certified or ENERGY STAR certified building.

Columbia, SC East-West building is ENERGY STAR certified with the buildings on our Portland, ME campus currently seeking ENERGY STAR certification.

Unum's City Square Project, currently underway in Worcester, MA, is planned to follow LEED principals and seek certification once completed in mid-2012.
Carbon footprint

Since our recycling efforts began, we have saved over 110,000 mature trees, 45 million US gallons of water, 19,368 cubic yards of landfill space, 12,912 barrels of oil, and 26,469,600 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

That's enough electric energy to power 3,228 average American homes for one year.
Environmental efforts

Secured bike cages and showers to encourage alternate transportation at the Chattanooga campus
Utilizing a Green Cleaning Program
Low flow faucets and toilets in many restrooms
Video conferencing technology to reduce business travel
Electronic marketing materials and forms to reduce paper usage
"Night Watchman" automatic nightly PC shutdown
Earth Day activities to promote awareness and increase employee participation in the office and at home
Plastic and can recycling stations in break rooms
Battery recycling bins in lobbies
Resource Conservation Centers on main campus areas for recycling collection
Paper recycle bins at desks and common office areas
Recycling and disposal program for IT equipment, storage tapes, and toner cartridges which has resulted in over 398 tons of electronics recycled since 2003
Purchase Energy-Star equipment for all data center, office equipment, and employee workstations
Encourage duplex printing company-wide
Printing and faxing equipment consolidation
Utilize virtual servers to reduce number of physical servers, floor space and power consumption
Use of advanced software tools to monitor and temporarily disable servers during periods of non-use
Lighting retrofit from T12 lights to T8 cool lights to reduce energy consumption
Ride Share and Ride Match program to reduce emissions from employee commutes
Teleworking and flexible work schedules
Donate surplus office furniture to schools and other agencies
Purchase furniture systems made with recycled materials
Utilize motion sensors and energy efficient lighting systems
Planned replacement of inefficient lighting and HVAC Systems
Use of USEMP/metering to monitor, track, and reduce energy consumption
EPB Parking lot at the Chattanooga campus utilizes storm water capture and recycling
Replacement program for equipment with ozone-depleting systems

Since 2008 Unum has:

  • Reduced energy consumption by more than 14%
  • Reduced carbon footprint by almost 17%
  • Reduce water consumption by 13%
  • Recycled more than 6,456 tons of paper
  • Recycled more than 10,196,807 pounds of building materials (including ceiling tiles, carpet, metals, ballasts, lamps, etc.)

Environmental purchasing policy

Unum is committed to making purchasing decisions with environmental considerations in mind. We promote environmentally conscious manufacturers by using products that are recycled or can be reused, without sacrificing quality, safety or effectiveness. Learn more about our environmental purchasing policy.