MAS car insurance aligned to sustainability practices

Every year hundreds of thousands of damaged windscreens end up in landfills across the country, but MAS’s car-glass partners take an environmentally sustainable approach including a focus on repair over replacement.   
 
MAS General Insurance Claims Manager James Gerrie says that MAS is on a journey of becoming more sustainable, which includes reducing the environmental impact of our insurance claims. He says that the general insurance team is proud to be working with car-glass partners – NOVUS and Smith&Smith® – which are so strong in the sustainability space. “Working alongside likeminded organisations which share our commitment to sustainability means we can better support sustainable practices.” 

“Glass takes thousands of years to break down which means windscreens build up in our landfills every day,” says NOVUS General Manager John Love. “So, the best alternative is to repair windscreens wherever possible rather than replacing them.” 

NOVUS’s Repair First philosophy is embedded in the company’s vision and values, which benefits MAS with a repair rate of over 33% and lowered costs. “In today’s world we need to be environmentally conscious and minimise environmental harm. Being sustainable is important to both us and our customers. When we do repairs, no glass waste is generated to contaminate landfill or the environment. Also, from a practical point of view, it takes much less time to complete a repair versus a replacement,” says John. 

NOVUS have carried out more than 25 million repairs in over 40 countries worldwide since it invented Windscreen Repair about 50 years ago. Repairs involve injecting a specially formulated resin into the damaged area. The resin is then cured and polished to restore structural strength and clarity to the glass. All repairs meet WOF/COF Standards and come with a Certificate of Compliance and guarantee.  

Of the windscreens that NOVUS needs to replace, 45% are recycled nationally. 
 
John says that as well as glass repairs, NOVUS’ sustainability policies include paper-free processes across the organisation, removing unnecessary packaging from nationwide glass deliveries, and recycling all recyclable materials.  
 
Looking to the future, an enhanced system is being developed to monitor and record the volumes of both glass and other waste by location.  
 
“We also recently launched our Chip in with NOVUS campaign alongside the Trees that Count Foundation. For every repair or replacement, NOVUS makes a donation to the Foundation, which is a charity planting native trees around New Zealand.” To date NOVUS has contributed 2251 trees which are expected to remove 98-.31 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere after 50 years.  
 
Smith&Smith® are also deeply committed to sustainability through their Responsible Business Programme. The Programme sets out to deliver on their purpose ‘making a difference with real care’ for their customers, people, shareholders and society.  The priorities of their Responsible Business Programme have been categorised into three focus areas: Planet, People and Partnerships and they update their progress to the goals and commitments of each focus area in their annual Responsible Business Reports, available on the Smith&Smith® website. 

Smith&Smith®’s commitment to the environment is demonstrated through their sustainable recycling programme and a focus on repairing versus replacing. This not only is better for the environment, but also quicker for customers. 
 
“We’re on a continuous mission to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill and were the pioneers of a national recycling programme for windscreens” says Smith&Smith® Managing Director Michelle van Gaalen. “We divert tonnes of waste from landfill by recycling glass, cardboard, paper and other items used daily.  In 2021 we diverted 83% of our waste from landfill and have an ambitious goal to get to 100%.” 
 
In partnership with 5R Solutions, glass is recycled into a wide range of products, including new glass jars and bottles, glass wool insulation and the recycled glass is even used for sandblasting.  
 
Smith&Smith® expanded their recycling programme to include their network of Authorised Dealers in late 2021 and have recycled 98% of all windscreens so far this year. 
 
MAS will continue to work with organisations that share our commitment to practices that contribute towards an environmentally sustainable Aotearoa New Zealand, says James.  
 
“It’s great to see these innovative practices in action and to be aligned to these businesses.”