Aetna’s commitment to a healthy environment

As a company long focused on leadership in corporate responsibility, Aetna is committed to fulfilling the goals outlined in our environmental policy statement by further reducing our carbon footprint. This significant commitment of resources has generated award-winning initiatives that have helped Aetna earn recognition as a company committed to protecting our most valued resources.

LEED Silver Certification

Early in 2012, Aetna earned Leadership in Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver Certification for the nearly two-year long renovation of the Atrium building on its Hartford, CT, campus.

Bestowed by the U.S. Green Building Council, the prestigious LEED award recognizes that Aetna has met aggressive sustainability goals for the Atrium project. The expansive top-to-bottom renovation of the 40-year-old structure included environmentally friendly upgrades that deliver on a comprehensive set of objectives ranging from improvements to indoor air quality to reduced energy use.

Aetna also earned LEED Silver certification in 2009 for the environmentally friendly construction of the Aetna Customer Center within its 80-year-old headquarters building.

Harnessing the power of telework

Aetna also took steps several years ago to encourage carpooling and telecommuting to help reduce commuter traffic and the pollutants it generates. Today, formal teleworking arrangements have increased significantly, and employees have access to more programs that support carpooling and offer financial incentives not to drive.

The results? Aetna’s teleworkers are reducing Aetna’s carbon footprint by preventing more than 79 million miles of driving per year, which saves more than 3.3 million gallons of gas and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by more than 29,000 metric tons per year.

Helping commuters plug in

In the Spring of 2012, Aetna took the innovative approach of installing electric vehicle charging stations on the Hartford and Blue Bell, Pa., campuses to help encourage employees to drive electric/hybrid cars to work. Three plug-in electric power (PEP) stations are now available for use by Hartford employees while a fourth PEP station services a security vehicle. Two PEP stations are operational in Blue Bell.

Information technology

Some of Aetna’s most significant sustainability accomplishments in the past year include the maturation in 2011 of a Green Data Center program that is greatly reducing energy use at Aetna’s data centers and extending their lifespan. With the impact of the Green Data Center program, the existing data centers are now considered sustainable until roughly 2030.

Game-changing reductions in energy use became possible when Aetna implemented new technology that allows more efficient cooling of the heat that is produced and improved utilization of the hardware.

Overall, the data centers now operate 20 percent more efficiently. From 2010 to 2011, energy consumption decreased by over 2 million kilowatt hours. These reductions occurred while business requests for data storage and systems capacity increased significantly.

Milestone in energy-use reduction

In 2010, Aetna hit an important milestone – it was the first year in which energy use declined at all major Aetna-owned facilities. In fact, Aetna saved 6.4 million kilowatt hours (KWH) across the enterprise over a three-year period.

Aetna’s energy-reduction strategy capitalized on the availability of newer, more energy-efficient technology. We also advanced our goals by finding creative ways to leverage existing technologies. In addition, Aetna uses EnergyStar® devices and automatic shut-off switches to minimize power consumption throughout all Aetna-owned facilities.

Turning an 80-year-old building ‘green’

Sustainable building practices are employed to the greatest extent practical for any building renovation and new construction work on Aetna properties. In 2006, Aetna launched a multi-year construction project to upgrade the Hartford campus, which includes a 1931 Georgian Revival building and a 1972 addition called the Atrium building. Completed in 2010, the project has enabled Aetna to make important new strides in environmental leadership.

• The cafeteria and kitchen facilities have been replaced with new, more energy-efficient equipment, and more environmentally friendly food-serving practices have been implemented.
• We replaced 1,169 wooden windows in the original building with new, more energy-efficient windows that are helping to reduce our energy consumption.

Collaborating with suppliers to achieve sustainability

In 2010, we introduced our key suppliers to our Supplier Relationship Management program, which includes an online sustainability assessment that measures a supplier’s engagement and proficiency level in a broad range of business practices that contribute to long-term viability and environmental sustainability. Opportunities for further development of sustainable business practices are discussed with each supplier.  In some cases, an action plan is formulated.

By year-end 2011, we found that nearly 70 percent of the enrolled suppliers exceeded expectations, and six achieved perfect scores.  We found across the board that supplier performance has improved. The end result is a more powerful surge toward mutually held sustainability goals.

Other sustainability efforts include:

• Aetna is a participant in the Business Roundtable's Climate RESOLVE initiative and is one of the companies featured in the Business Roundtable’s 2012 sustainability report: “Create, Grow, Sustain".
• At Aetna-owned facilities, we recycle paper, cardboard, glass and plastic bottles.
• Aetna has recycled fluorescent light bulbs since 1994, long before it was required.
• Aetna is using more environmentally friendly paper sources for corporate marketing materials, an effort that in 2011 saved 368 tons of paper, equal to 1,859 trees, and prevented 758 million BTUs of energy use.
• We have installed new or upgraded water filtration and chilling systems in many Aetna locations to discourage the use of individual plastic water bottles and reduce our waste stream.

Awards and recognition

Our commitment to a healthy environment has netted important recognitions:

• Aetna has been named a 2011  International Data Group InfoWorld Green 15 Awards winner for eliminating paper from the contracting process for health care professionals. Aetna is the first health insurer to offer electronic contract processing to doctors, hospitals and other health care facilities.
• Aetna’s innovative efforts to address global climate change were recognized with a 2009 Connecticut Climate Change Leadership Award by the State of Connecticut.
• The Clean Air Campaign presented Aetna with a 2008 PACE Spotlight Award for the impact of its telework program in the Atlanta area.
• The EPA recognized Aetna in 2006 as one of the “Best Workplaces for Commuters from the Fortune 500 Companies” – helping to reduce vehicular pollution.