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Sustainability

Our sustainability pillars

Our purpose is the better health and wellbeing of our members, travellers and participants, as well as the communities we serve.

Our vision is to play a meaningful role in maintaining good health and improving health and related outcomes for people and their communities, especially in reducing gaps in access to care and outcomes within discrete communities.

We also recognise the influence of a wide range of social, economic and environmental factors and the role we can play, however modest, in aligning these with our purpose. They include a sense of acceptance and inclusion, meaningful employment and economic security, as well as a clean and sustainable natural environment.

Sustainability principles

1. Population health

The quality of peoples’ health is influenced by a range of determinants, including the communities where they live and work, behaviours developed throughout life and access to healthcare.   

Health and travel insurance play an important role in enabling access to healthcare. However, aligned with our purpose of ‘your better health and wellbeing’ we increasingly see ourselves as a health partner with the ability to support our members across the spectrum of health determinates in pursuit of improving the health and wellbeing for our populations and communities they live.

In 2018, nib launched its first population health initiative with Auckland-based iwi, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. The Toi Ora programme aims to deliver better health outcomes for hapū members and tackle existing barriers experienced by Māori people when accessing public healthcare.

A woman piggybacking her daughter

2. Community spirit & cohesion

Strong community spirit and cohesion are good for the psychological and physical resilience of communities. We believe a strong sense of belonging, social justice, and respect of differences is essential to fostering resilient and healthy communities.   

Our partnerships with the community build resilience and reduce inequalities, with a special focus on equity for populations that experience health disparities including First Nations peoples, people with disabilities, diverse and rural communities.

Community Spirit & Cohesion

Our charitable organisation, nib foundation, is armed with the purpose of advancing health. By providing grants to our partners we help deliver innovative programs that make positive and lasting improvements to people’s health and wellbeing. In 2020, nib launched its inaugural Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), which has been designed using the Reconciliation Australia framework.

A woman watering some plants

3. People, culture & employment

We believe investment in employment is important to the overall health and wellbeing of communities and that we have a leadership role to play in encouraging inclusion and equal opportunity. Our ‘Life at nib’ philosophy provides continued support for our people to ensure equitable outcomes on an ongoing basis to foster a culture of safety, inclusion, diversity of thought and professional development.

We believe feeling included for who we are and empowered to be our authentic selves is essential to wellbeing and living a fulfilling life. Our vision is to foster a sense of community where everyone is welcome, contributes and belongs. Our commitment to ethical practices, abiding by the law and human decency is articulated in nib's code of conduct.

Woman and man smiling in a cafe

4. Natural environment

Healthy people and communities rely on a healthy planet. The quality of the natural environments in which we live are similarly influential on people’s health. The quality of air and water, biodiversity and climate stability are crucial to the health and wellbeing of our members, employees and partners. We will improve our business processes and influence to limit our impact on the environment.

nib is committed to limiting our impact on the environment, and we aim to be transparent with our stakeholders. We report annually to the Carbon Disclosure Project through their TCFD reporting framework and we disclose our emissions through our sustainability reporting. Our commitment to our natural environment also extends to our investments.

Woman pointing at kangaroos near a cliff

5. Leadership & governance

We strongly believe in the importance of having the highest standards of ethical practice, good governance and risk management in business and public institutions.   

We seek to manage and protect the data of our customers through data management, security and governance.  

We understand the risks associated with our business operations and the potential consequences for our stakeholders in failing to manage these risks. We demonstrate leadership by supporting our suppliers to mitigate human rights risks within their operations.

nib's Board and Management are committed to achieving and demonstrating the highest standards of corporate governance and ensuring compliance with the ASX Corporate Governance Council's Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations. We aim to ensure our suppliers comply with applicable laws and standards of ethics, health, safety and environmental protections.

Business woman in a meeting

Sustainability reports