The campaign was launched in September 2007 in association with GAP (Global Action Plan), a major environmental charity, and targeted changing the habits of esure staff in its Reigate, Manchester and Glasgow offices.

The campaign called on 40 employee volunteers to measure the environmental consequences of leaving a computer screen on or printing unnecessarily. The volunteers, known as Environment Champions, then used this information to change the behaviour of other employees.

One year on and esure has shown cuts of 29 per cent in paper waste, saving two million sheets of paper a year, which is the equivalent of 22 million litres of water and 179 trees.

The company’s recycling rate has also more than doubled from 23 per cent to 56 per cent. Esure has also managed to make huge energy savings through a 50 per cent reduction is screens being left on.

And, on top of this, esure is now one of the first UK car insurance providers to source all the energy it uses from renewable sources such as wind, tide and solar power.

Head of corporate communications at esure, Adrian Webb commented: “It would be easy for an online insurer to think it is environmentally sound because it operates in the relative low-waste world of cyberspace but we wanted to transform the habits of our staff to create a deep-seated green culture.

“We made substantial changes to our corporate energy buying and recycling but have made the biggest impact by helping staff to recognise and reduce their personal carbon footprint while at work.”

© Fair Investment Company Ltd