How many cups of tea?! The greener way to assess rebuild costs
- Amy Lillington
- Mar 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 24
How do you cut 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions without sacrificing efficiency? Spoiler alert: it doesn’t involve giving up your morning cuppa.
Not every property needs a site visit to calculate its rebuild cost. That’s where desktop assessments come in – a faster, greener, and more efficient way to ensure properties are correctly insured, without unnecessary travel.
Big savings, big impact (and a lot of tea)
By using trusted data sources like Land Registry, Ordnance Survey, and Google Street View, desktop assessments help reduce both costs and time spent.
Last year, we cut out 4,906,590 miles of travel, which meant avoiding 1,027 tonnes of carbon emissions. That’s a big number - so let’s break it down.
The average Brit drinks three cups of tea a day. At that rate, it would take you over 10,500 years to brew enough tea to produce the same amount of carbon emissions we saved – 11.5 million cups in total.
That’s enough to keep us Brits happily sipping tea for days… or fuel an extremely long tea party with the Mad Hatter.
(And if you’re curious about how we got to that number, we’ve included a breakdown at the bottom of this article!)
A greener way to assess rebuild costs
For most properties, desktop assessments provide a reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible alternative to site visits. They deliver accurate valuations without the added emissions or the need to put the kettle on for visiting surveyors.
"Desktop assessments have always been a great way to deliver accurate valuations, but when you look at the environmental impact, the case for them is even stronger. Cutting travel miles is a positive step for both our clients and the planet.” John Pirone, Client Engagement and Insights Manager, said.
“Of course, some properties still require on-site assessments, and when that happens, we make sure it’s done as sustainably as possible. 90% of our vehicles are now electric or hybrid, further reducing our carbon footprint”, he added.
The insurance industry’s role in sustainability
Sustainability is becoming an increasing priority across the insurance sector. Brokers play a key role in helping clients make greener choices.
By recommending a desktop assessment where possible, brokers can:
✅ Reduce emissions – Less travel means lower carbon output.
✅ Speed up valuations – Reports were delivered in an average of 8 working days last year.
✅ Keep costs down – A more affordable alternative to site visits.
A small change, a big impact. Choosing desktop assessments where possible means lower costs, faster results, and a smaller carbon footprint, all without having to cut back on your tea breaks.
Want to see the impact for yourself? Learn more about desktop assessments here, and if you found this interesting, share it with a colleague!
The breakdown
Average CO2 emissions per car in the UK: 211.2 grams per mile
Estimated carbon footprint of a cup of tea (with milk)
Component | CO₂e per cup (grams) | Notes |
Boiling the water (500ml) | ~25g | Overfilled kettles can increase this significantly. |
Tea Production & Processing | ~15g | Includes growing, harvesting, drying, and transport. |
Tea Bag & Packaging | ~3g | Higher for individually wrapped bags or plastic-based materials. |
Milk (Standard Splash – 30ml) | ~45g | Based on UK dairy milk average emissions (~1.4kg CO₂e per litre). |
Transport & Distribution | ~2g | Includes transport from farms to processing plants and retailers. |
Total: ~90g CO₂e per cup
Sources: