Johnston, R.I. — Due to more businesses seeking to design and build energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable facilities, FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers, has released new research showing ways business property owners can reduce carbon emissions (greenhouse gases) attributable to fire and natural disaster risks. The findings also reveal that, as the trend to build greener facilities increases, so do such potential unintended consequences.

The technical report titled "The Influence of Risk Factors on Sustainable Development," is available for download at www.fmglobal.com/researchreports and is part of FM Global’s efforts to enhance awareness of property-related risks and loss prevention solutions associated with sustainable development.

"While most research to date on sustainable environmental building design has appropriately focused on the energy efficiency of ‘green’ facilities as the main source of carbon emissions, this is the first research that looks at the influence of fire and natural disasters," said Dr. Louis Gritzo, FM Global vice president and research manager. "Risk management is an integral part of sustainable development and FM Global recommends that future criteria for sustainable design and operation consider the risks fire and natural disaster can pose and the benefits of mitigating such threats."

According to Brion Callori, FM Global senior vice president, engineering and research, the company’s decision to begin making select technical research reports publicly available without charge reflects the changing business practices and risk profiles of its clients around the world, which include one of every three FORTUNE 1000-size companies worldwide.

"In recent years, FM Global has observed an increase in frequency and severity of fire and natural disasters worldwide and a growing interdependence of businesses from globalization and technology," said Callori. "It’s an appropriate time to be sharing such information, given businesses’ heightened consciousness around the environment, sustainability, risk management and their stakeholders’ expectations."


About FM Global
For nearly two centuries, many of the world’s largest organizations have worked with FM Global to develop cost-effective property insurance and engineering solutions to protect their business operations from fire, natural disasters and other types of property risk. With clients in more than 130 countries and US$4.6 billion in policyholder surplus, FM Global ranks #766 among FORTUNE magazine’s largest companies in America and is rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best and AA (Very Strong) by Fitch Ratings. The company has been named "Best Property Insurer in the World" by Euromoney magazine and "Best Global Property Insurer" by Global Finance magazine.