Assurant: Why Should Employees Engage with Sustainability?

Assurant is a leading global business services company that supports, protects, and connects major consumer purchases. 

A Fortune 500 company with a presence in 21 countries, Assurant supports the advancement of the connected world by partnering with the world’s leading brands to develop innovative solutions and deliver an enhanced customer experience through mobile device solutions, extended service contracts, vehicle protection services, renters insurance, lender-placed insurance products, and other specialty products.

Michael Bellantis joined the company as AVP Sustainability in 2022 and has held his current role as Vice President Sustainability since January 2024.

Please introduce yourself

I currently lead the global sustainability initiatives at Assurant in support of our Sustainability Vision to advance a connected, respected, and protected world with three ambition outcomes:

• A Thriving Society
• A Circular Economy
• A Stable Climate

My passion for sustainability dates back to my time attending the Ohio State University and pursuing a degree in environmental policy and management, and early in my career delivering meaningful impact across natural ecosystems. 

What inspires me about leading sustainability initiatives at Assurant is that these programmes are directly tied to how we deliver for our employees, clients, and investors as we drive impact in the communities where we operate globally. 

Please give an overview of Assurant's sustainability strategy

At the core of our approach to sustainability is strong governance, and routine engagement with key internal and external stakeholders to evolve our strategy. 

This ensures that our strategy remains relevant to our unique lines of business and global presence, authentic in that it focuses on the topics that are most impactful, and continuously aligned to support Assurant’s broader growth and innovation strategy. 

We prioritise sustainability topics using two levers. 

First, we consider how each area affects our enterprise value—how we drive business outcomes, strengthen client relationships, and integrate sustainability within our business model. 

Second, we evaluate these topics from an external perspective, looking at their broader impact on society, the environment, and the communities we serve. 

Through this process, we identified three ambitious outcomes:

• Thriving Society: We are a trusted and valued employer and value chain partner that is responsive to the needs of its workforce, fostering an environment where all people feel empowered and rewarded.
• Circular Economy: We aim to be the world’s most impactful re-use and refurbishment solutions provider and partner of choice for mobile devices. We transform the way people think about re-use, refurbishment, and extending the life of electronics, appliances, and automobiles. 
• Stable Climate: We play a critical role in providing protection to our clients and end-consumers from the negative effects of climate change. 

Why is it important to weave sustainability into business operations?

Sustainability absolutely is directly tied to our business goals, and our values and purpose as an organisation. Global stakeholder expectations around sustainability are rising, and our clients, investors, and employees all are seeking greater alignment with sustainable values. 

Clients increasingly view us as partners who can help them to achieve their own sustainability objectives, and we can differentiate and expand client relationships by embedding sustainability within our offerings. 

This alignment allows us to collaborate and drive meaningful dialogue to enhance our collective impact. Investors continue to expect transparency and strong governance, with a growing focus on clear, measurable progress. 

Our global workforce, especially younger generations, want to work for purpose-driven employers. Assurant’s investment in and continued commitment to sustainability allows our employees to work for a company that has common sustainability values – including how we prioritise our people, centered around key areas like talent and engagement and health and wellbeing for a workforce that mirrors the communities in which we work and serve. 

For example, in Latin America, dedicated "green teams" spearhead efforts to reduce site energy consumption and minimise waste, including initiatives to eliminate single-use plastics. 

Why is it key for sustainability teams to collaborate with other  functional leaders to drive impact in the value chain? 

I often find that we can optimise the impact of our efforts through close collaboration with key internal stakeholders. 

For example, our corporate real estate team helps drive our climate initiatives by managing global energy efficiency investments across our real estate footprint of 70-80 sites, including renewable energy that we envision becoming a larger part of our decarbonisation efforts. 

By aligning their daily operations with our overall sustainability strategy, they can amplify our environmental impact worldwide. As we reduce our environmental footprint (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions reduction), it has cascading benefits to our clients by lowering their Scope 3 emissions.

How can companies engage employees to contribute ideas for improving energy usage and driving sustainability initiatives, and why is it important?

We empower our employees to champion sustainability through grassroots initiatives, innovation, and regional projects. This is central to Assurant's forward-looking strategy and adaptability and encourages our employees to think creatively to drive our long-term sustainability objectives. 

In Europe, for example, a colleague launched a sustainable packaging initiative that reduces plastic and incorporates eco-friendly inks. This idea has successfully expanded across our European operations, with potential to become the standard for global implementation. 

In our Latin America region, the team organised sustainable summits that measure and gamify the environmental impacts of activities. In our Brazil office, employees recently conducted a Sustainability Week to promote eco-friendly practices among employees and clients.

These initiatives are driven by Assurant’s strong link between innovation and sustainability, where innovation is embedded in our DNA. 

Our sustainability ambitions will continue to focus on long-term commitments, such as achieving our existing climate target by 2030. This focus on innovation, which is woven throughout our global workforce, empowers us to explore new areas and succeed in realising our vision for a sustainable future.

Explore the latest edition of Sustainability Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Sustainability LIVE. 

Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.

Sustainability Magazine is a BizClik brand