Aon’s 2021 ESG Impact Report highlights the many ways Aon continues to advance its ESG strategy, capabilities and solutions to enable better decisions that help build a better world. This week’s host, Aon’s Chief Marketing Officer, Andy Weitz, joins Aon’s Head of Investor Relations and ESG Leslie Follmer and Aon’s Chief People Officer and Head of Global Human Capital Solutions Lisa Stevens for a conversation about the report and Aon’s ESG initiatives.
This episode was recorded live on June 8, in front of a live virtual audience, during Aon’s Global Impact Week. A special thank you to all colleagues who tuned in live to watch!
Additional Resources:
Better Decisions For A Better World: Aon’s 2021 ESG Impact Report
Aon Announces the Aon United Growth Ownership Plan For Colleagues
HR Executive: Meet Aon’s first chief wellbeing officer’
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Voiceover:
Welcome to “On Aon,” a podcast featuring conversations between colleagues on, well, Aon. This week’s episode was originally recorded live on June 8, in front of a live Webex audience, during Aon’s Global Impact Week. Thank you to all colleagues who tuned in live to watch! In this week’s episode, we hear from Leslie Follmer and Lisa Stevens around Aon’s 2021 ESG Impact Report. And now, this week’s host, Aon’s Chief Marketing Officer, Andy Weitz.
Andy Weitz:
Hello On Aon listeners. My name is Andy Weitz, and I've been with Aon since 2014, lucky enough to be serving as chief marketing officer since 2017. It is a thrill to be with you today. Today's podcast is a little unique in that we're recording this on June 8 as part of Aon's Global Impact Week. That means we've invited our 50,000 closest friends, our global colleagues, to listen in live as we record. So no safety net today. Welcome to everyone who's tuned in live. Joining me on our first ever live podcast recording are Leslie Follmer, Aon's head of investor relations and ESG, and Lisa Stevens, Aon's chief people officer and head of global Human Capital Solutions, and we're talking today about Aon's 2021 ESG Impact Report. Thank you for being here Leslie and Lisa.
Leslie Follmer:
Andy, it's awesome to be here and obviously couldn't be here without huge work from the team around the Impact Report. So, before we start, just thank you. Thank you for having me but thank you so much to the team across the firm who pulled that together.
Lisa Stevens:
It is fantastic to get to spend some time with you and Leslie talking about one of my most favorite subjects, which is the impact that our incredible colleagues have on this world.
Andy Weitz:
Awesome. Well, thank you both. This is going to be a lot of fun and I say we jump right in. So, Leslie, let's start with you. As head of investor relations and ESG for Aon, can you share any insights, kind of like a high-level summary maybe, of what's included in this year's report?
Leslie Follmer:
Yeah, absolutely. I think there is a lot in there and I think what you see is that the report continues to highlight the way that we're driving our ESG strategy capabilities and solutions. So, it's about what we do for Aon, Aon as the corporate and it's about what we do for clients. And I think you really see that across environmental, social and governance throughout the report and I think those initiatives really demonstrate the commitment to all of our various stakeholders, all the communities that we live and work in and I think within those internal programs and initiatives, what you really see are all the amazing work that our colleagues are doing to support clients and to have a positive impact across the firm.
Leslie Follmer:
And I would just say one of the things that to me is most exciting about the report is how what we're doing in ESG isn't an ESG thing that we do on the side. It's absolutely embedded in how we operate. And I know Lisa will talk about how important our people strategy is to our culture, but I think when you think about what we're doing with smart working and the impact that that has on the environment, all these things that we're doing, we're doing because they're the right thing for the firm, for our people and they have really positive ESG impacts as well, which is a fantastic amplifier of all those things.
Andy Weitz:
Oh, Leslie, I love that. I love the way you're talking about how we're walking the walk at Aon. And given the size and scale of our firm and the clients we touch all over the world, we have really unique insights from our own experiences that translate into insights for them. And you mentioned Lisa's role as head of Human Capital Solutions. I'm curious, Lisa, what have been some of the standout moments, both as chief people officer and looking forward as we think about how those translate into advice and insight we can share with clients? When you think about the social impact we've had in '21 at Aon, what stands out most to you?
Lisa Stevens:
Well, especially, Leslie, listening to what you just said and Andy, what I'd say is I think about from a human capital perspective, just Aon as a client and all that the team has done for us when it comes to inclusion and diversity and the work that we do for clients as well around dashboards to build to understand diversity. It's pretty phenomenal. So, I would start there as being a proud client of the human capital team has been incredible because they've really been helping us with our journey as they do with other clients. I also think the work that the Global Inclusive Leadership Council has done to really lead our organization in terms of the things that we're doing around hiring to the responsibilities that we have both from a regional and local perspective. We know that we can get a lot of work done from a global perspective, but where all the stuff really happens is down inside of our local communities, and that leadership cascading through is pretty incredible.
Lisa Stevens:
In terms of the wellbeing, it's a work in progress for everyone, for all of our clients, for all of us in terms of, Leslie, as you said, smart working. How do we make sure that we're doing the most we can to work well together wherever and however we can to serve each other and to serve our clients? And so, we'll continue to focus on that. And then for our colleagues, I'm so proud of the work that we did in 2021 around the Aon United Growth Ownership Plan. So that opportunity to make every colleague part of Aon and how Aon is performing out in the market. And then I would be remiss, Andy, if I didn't mention adding Rachel Fellowes, our chief wellbeing officer, to the firm most recently and her bringing us the Human Sustainability Index, which really is all about helping and helped our organization with understanding our resilience both individually and also as high-performing teams. I think that's been an incredible thing for us to focus on.
Andy Weitz:
Well, Lisa, I'm so glad you mentioned Rachel because to me, it's another example of how what we're doing at Aon on behalf of our colleagues also applies to how we advise and create value for our clients. And I was with Rachel last month at our North American Client Council and she crushed it. The interest our clients had in that intersection of wellbeing, our health solutions capabilities and then bigger picture how that fits into the ESG puzzle. It just feels like this kind of stuff has never been more relevant both within the four walls of Aon and out there in the marketplace.
Andy Weitz:
And I guess, if I could draw one more common thread kind of between these examples, everything you mentioned is about helping our colleagues thrive so they can then, as I alluded to, deliver that exceptional work to our clients, and this was an important element of the report, the year's plan that we just shared, and it highlighted not only I think the impact we have as a corporate citizen at Aon, but also how we translate that into value as an advisor. So, Leslie, I'm curious to come back to you, there was a lot in the report that focused on kind of that mentality that I talked about and the environmental aspect of what we're doing. Can you share a little bit more about how Aon is thinking about environmental impact?
Leslie Follmer:
Yeah, absolutely. And I think just to your point on taking people on the journey, I don't think anyone has all the perfect answers yet and it's very much about coming from a starting point and getting to where you want to be. And I think that's something that gives us a ton of credibility with clients and something that we're doing. And I think when you look on the environmental side, so I think everyone maybe is aware, we've got a commitment to be net zero in alignment with science-based targets by 2030. This is an aggressive target. We're the only one in our peer group the only broker that has it and what it means is we're going to be carbon neutral on all of our operations and our supply chain. And so, this is an initiative that can't be done without our whole GSM team as well as our real estate team.
Leslie Follmer:
But I think that recognition of that commitment and for our clients and our colleagues to see those steps we're taking around managing our own impact is really powerful and it's also something that I'm really proud of. And then I think the bigger opportunity for us in terms of helping the world decarbonize is really around helping clients. And so, I think we have a ton of really fantastic capabilities around risk quantification. We've got some of the best climate models in the world. And then I think when you go to risk transfer, when you look at tools like catastrophe bonds or parametric insurance solutions, we really have this opportunity to help clients transfer risk and be more resilient and start the move to a greener economy as we go forward.
Andy Weitz:
Leslie, I love that as you were giving the different dimensions of the environmental impact and the challenges we face, I was struck by just the opportunity we had from an Aon United perspective because so many of those examples reflect a lot of our different solution lines and the clients don't think about how we're organized about how our solution lines line up. They think about it in the context of their needs. And I think we're pretty unique in our ability to bring those together in the way you've just described. And in fact, I loved how you talked about how amongst our peer group, from a broker perspective, we're ahead. I think this places us more broadly in the professional services context in a great place too amongst organizations more and more where we encountered amongst as we think about that evolving capability we have and the breadth of that Aon United offering. What do you think?
Leslie Follmer:
I would absolutely agree. And I think when we think about our colleagues, this is one that I hear a lot of questions about from colleagues around the world. How can they have an impact? What does it mean for them? And I think many people around the world are looking for ways to reduce their own footprint and whether that's maybe commuting or traveling less or recycling more whatever it is at home. I think we're giving people a lot of opportunities to manage their own footprint because that's something that is incredibly important to colleagues.
Andy Weitz:
100%. And I love that last point about colleagues looking for ways they can contribute both in the professional setting as an Aon colleague and how we translate that into value with clients and also in their personal lives. And I think we're setting a really important tone there and it's important to our team. I also think all of that credibility, it translates into a leadership position with our colleagues and it helps us show up, I think, in a really credible way and driving their own transition. I know you're overseeing ESG from a corporate perspective in terms of the policy at Aon, but you also work really closely with the team that's looking at it from a commercial perspective, right?
Leslie Follmer:
Oh, absolutely. Yes. And I think there are so many people at Aon that are touching this. Obviously, Richard Dudley, Bridget Gainer, Laura Wanlass are looking at these types of issues every day much more than I am. And I think the fact that we all can work so closely together and be aligned in what we're saying as a company and what we're doing for clients is incredibly credible and incredibly powerful and I think it's something that we should all be really proud of.
Andy Weitz:
Totally agree. And in a way back to being proud of this, Lisa, it brings us back to a point Leslie made earlier. She talked about colleagues looking for ways they could drive impacts themselves. For those out there who are listening, again, welcome to our live listeners, and wondering how they can partner across our firm to have an impact, what would you say?
Lisa Stevens:
So, when I think about things that, Leslie, you said, there's two things I think about. One is I think about our values. And so, it's always when I'm talking to colleagues or when I'm talking to family members or friends about Aon, it's so easy to roll... We're committed, we're united and we're passionate. And when you pull those all together and you think about what they stand for, the fact that we are committed to one firm mindset and then this piece around being committed to what we do followed by this amazing ability to unite as one team under trust in an inclusive way. And so, the inclusive leadership piece is so incredibly important. You have to feel like you belong. And so, what are we doing to make our colleagues feel like they belong?
Lisa Stevens:
And so, if I could get a message out there to all of you, it would be to make sure that you're going in and you're going on Aon Avenue and you're looking at all the incredible things we have to be involved with. Again, Impact Week, perfect thing to look at. Where can you volunteer? Where can you get involved with a business resource group? There's so many great things going on and it's our job to help you to feel connected because there's so much value that people bring when we collectively come together. We have over 122 different BRG chapters across 14 countries. So, there's an opportunity for people to really get involved. It's Pride Month. So, there's all sorts of great things happening there this month. And as an organization, we're only as good as all of you as our people. And so, the more that we can do to collectively come together the better.
Lisa Stevens:
And then I would just say from, Leslie, picking up off of the great work that Richard and Bridget and Laura Wanlass are doing in ESG, we have an opportunity to educate each other and learn more. So how are we as colleagues learning as much as we can, and then what are we doing to help each other? So, what are we doing when we do know a lot about like what's going on with carbon emissions or something else that's impacting the environment or socially impacting us? So how are we connecting on this journey together so that we can be better for each other internally and also for our clients? And I like the thing of thinking about how are we educating ourselves? And then is there someone that can be designated that can be our expert on ESG, climate change as a champion?
Lisa Stevens:
And lastly, I think the dedication of all of us in really building strategies together so that as we move forward, we have many, many days ahead of us for the future. And for those of you who aren't colleagues, I would just say, please take time to learn more about what we are doing by checking out the Impact Report because it's pretty incredible. And again, we're on a journey with all of you, but it's all of us together that are going to make the difference.
Andy Weitz:
Lisa, that was awesome. And I can see the response from our team who's listening live. We got a lot of clapping and hearts and excitement from the team. So, I know it's resonating. I want to double down on one aspect that you just talked about, which is ownership and that idea that we're all responsible for being a part of telling the Aon Story. And you talked about our values, committed, united, passionate. How does this connect to the bigger Aon Story though? We've talked a lot about our purpose that we exist to shape decisions for the better to enrich and protect the lives that people around the world. What obligation does this team have to understand that whole story? And where does ESG fit in? Is there a way to make ESG one of the examples of how the Aon Story comes to life both within our teams and in communities?
Lisa Stevens:
So, to me the thing about Aon that's so powerful, it is about collective, brilliant, amazing colleagues coming together and forming these teams of being able to provide different perspectives. So, you're getting expertise all around the world and all sorts of different things and it's how we powerfully bring it together, that responsibility. And so, when you think about how incredibly dynamic ESG is, just break it down. It's not three things. It's not environment and social and governance. Inside of each one, there's multiple parts of it and there's so much to it. No one has to be an expert in everything, but we all have the responsibility to try and figure out how we connect so that we know where to go to get the answers. And then also, how do we figure it out? And then how do we figure out what value it is that we can bring to that?
Lisa Stevens:
And so, I go back to the Aon Story and I think about where am I relevant and playing a role in helping my clients so that they can better understand the components of ESG? And then how am I making sure I'm making those connections I need to make? And so, anything that we can do as an organization to help our clients connect and our colleagues to connect to our clients and our colleagues to connect with each other, the better off we're going to be regardless of what the initiative.
Lisa Stevens:
And Andy, the last thing that I'll say is the one thing that I know for sure from the last two and a half years in my experiences, and all of our experiences, is that I don't know. This has been the most uncertain time in our entire lives that we've lived. I know there's been other generations that have had more uncertainty, but we don't have an exact roadmap, but I know that the way that we win is we win together. And I know that the strategy that we have around the Aon Story does that. It puts us together and it's about trusting each other, that united and trust, to be able to rely on each other to be able to come up with answers that we don't have. We're writing the map. We're doing the journey right now all together, which is pretty incredible and scary and fantastic and wonderful all at the same time.
Leslie Follmer:
Lisa, I was just going to jump in and say, I think when you look at some of the challenges that you come up to when you start thinking against the lens of ES and G, I think your point is spot on, which is they are multi-faceted, multi-dimensional type challenges that you really need understanding of the subject matter, understanding of the subject, understanding of what it means to your client, understanding of those issues. And I think Aon is incredibly well-positioned to bring the people together that can help think about those challenges for our clients, but also as we think about bigger impact on the world, I think it's a humongous opportunity for us.
Andy Weitz:
Oh, so much good stuff here. I love the way we're talking about every colleague doing ownership in their every day on their teams to kind of be an ESG ambassador and to make their teams conscious of the choices we're making as a firm, not just so we're accountable to each other, back to committed, united, passionate, but also so that we understand kind of what the pulse of our client base is like because to your point, three, five, seven years ago, this wasn't on the agenda in the way it is today. And I love how our firm has pivoted and not just caught up, but is not only leading amongst our peers, but to Leslie's point, delivering really unique commercial insight and capability that really creates value for them. And I think we all, regardless of whether or not we're on a team that's delivering an ESG solution, need to remember that that's a point of difference.
Andy Weitz:
And I think the Aon Story, to your point, Lisa, does a great job of putting it in context because I think it's a phenomenal example of what it means to be in the business of better decisions, right? To be able to articulate what's on the minds of our clients and connect it in those ways. So, I just really appreciate this dialogue. It's been really fun to think about the different ways that the firm is evolving to make sure that we're relevant to clients and the pride it's creating with our colleagues. And I can feel the energy on this call. So, I hope everyone who's listened along can feel it too.
Andy Weitz:
Listen, thank you both very much for everything we've covered over the last 20 minutes or so. I really want if you'd indulge me before we sign off to ask you just a couple of questions that might give our listeners a little bit of a window into each of you personally. You play incredibly important roles in the firm. And I like to say that Aon's the biggest little firm out there. We're so well-connected through Aon United. We have such strong personal connections across the firm, but sometimes you don't always get to have a conversation like this with a senior leader like yourselves. So, Leslie, I'm going to put you on the spot and ask you, what is your favorite thing to do outside of work? When you're not working, what is Leslie Follmer up to?
Leslie Follmer:
Great. So, you'll probably find me outside enjoying the environment. I have two kids. My little boys are eight and... Sorry, three and eight months. The eight-month old's just starting to want to move. And so, we are spending a lot of time running around outside enjoying the world. And especially when you think about the environment and what it is that you want to try and protect and keep healthy for your children, I think you can just see how much enjoyment kids get out of trees and bugs and beaches and forests. And I think it brings back like why we do what we do, I think. And certainly don't have a ton of free time with the kids, but that is my kind of relaxing in the moment is just hanging with them somewhere outside where we can run around. Lisa, what about you?
Lisa Stevens:
So, one of the things that I always love doing, but the pandemic actually gave me an opportunity to do it a lot was cooking and in particular cooking with my family. And so, I would say that that's like one of the most fun things I get to do. I have much older children, one who's still living with us who we cook together all the time, and then my two older kids, on Sundays, I send them food and we all cook the same thing and then we send pictures and we compete for like whose was the best, which has turned into like something that started as like a family thing and virtually we figured out a way to keep it going.
Andy Weitz:
That is awesome. And by the way, Leslie, I think I'd watched that reality show, The Stevens Cooking Contest. I might even be willing to be a judge. So, sign me up if I can get in next time around. Okay?
Leslie Follmer:
Absolutely. I'm in for the taste test too.
Lisa Stevens:
All right.
Andy Weitz:
That's so great.
Lisa Stevens:
Andy, what about you?
Andy Weitz:
Oh, okay. What about me? I will tell you; I am kind of a pop culture junkie. I'm a movie guy and I have kids who are 14 and 12 now. So, they're just getting old enough that I can kind of introduce them to all my favorite '80s movies and force them for quality time with dad where we sit down and we watch this stuff. And that's a real attention span challenger because as you know, kids these days, they don't digest content exactly that way, but it's been a lot of fun and it kind of came full circle. My son and I just went and saw a Top Gun: Maverick last week. And by the way, Leslie, I know you're in San Diego. So, this has got to hit home for you. It's phenomenal. And so, I think I had a cool dad moment. So, I feel pretty good about the investment we've made in '80s pop culture over the course of the pandemic.
Lisa Stevens:
Was it your movie for the summer? Was it your top movie for the summer?
Andy Weitz:
And by the way, we all know it's a dad movie, right? Like it's such a classic. So, this has turned into a movie review. We should probably get back to ESG, but yes, it's my favorite movie so far this summer. All right. So, there you go. A little bit of insight into the team. I just want to wrap up by saying thank you again to both of you. Leslie, your leadership on ESG has been a game changer and Lisa and I, I think are both honored and privileged to serve on the ESG committee here at the firm. And the way you've brought the firm together and got us aligned around our policy and taken us from playing a little bit of defense maybe to really going on offense and to your point earlier, setting the tone amongst our peers and aspiring to be counted amongst the leaders in the B2B space is just awesome. So, thank you for the energy and the diplomacy and the way you pulled everyone together because you see it in the ESG Impact Report and it's a huge milestone for our firm.
Andy Weitz:
And Lisa, I just want to say thank you to you for all the advocacy and passion you bring to everything you do in the people organization and the way we've translated that into the relevance that we have now, that we've had I think in the past, but the way the Human Capital Solutions team is now on their front foot part of Aon United and making sure we're making connections and intersections like between the Health Solutions team and HCS and client need around ESG. It just makes it so real. So, I think the firm is more relevant because of the efforts both of you make to drive us forward. And on behalf of everyone listening from Aon and everyone out there who needs to get to know us better, I want to say thank you.
Andy Weitz:
And then finally to our listeners, our participants here live, I think we've done reasonably well ladies. I don't think we need to rerecord this. I don't think we have a choice if we wanted to. It's live. So that's our show for today. Thank you to everyone who's listening around the world. Look forward to having you back soon for the next episode of On Aon and hopefully we didn't blow it. Maybe we'll get another shot. With that in mind, have a great rest of your day, afternoon, evening, wherever you may be and thank you for being with Aon.
Voiceover:
This has been a conversation “On Aon” and Aon’s 2021 ESG Impact Report. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this week’s episode, tune in in two weeks for another new episode. To learn more about Aon, its colleagues, solutions and news, check out our show notes, and visit our website at Aon dot com.