We aspire to be a responsibly-managed business that is Client-focused, competitive, forward-thinking, financially and environmentally resilient, and sustainable for the long term.
Operating ethically, treating our Clients and employees with utmost respect, and acting on critical environmental and societal issues are all vital components of maintaining the longevity and resiliency of our business.
Our work is aligned to Sustainable Development Goals #5 Gender equality and #13 Climate action.
2022 highlights:
Climate and environmental action
- Reduced absolute greenhouse gas emissions in our operations by 36.9% (2019 baseline) – from 42,904 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) to 27,063 tCO2e.1 We attribute progress to a mix of eco-efficiency measures and hybrid work arrangements resulting in lower facilities use.
- Created more climate-related roles at Sun Life and hired our first Vice-President (VP) of Climate Change and Environmental Impact to oversee Sun Life’s enterprise-wide climate change strategy, climate risk management, decarbonization performance and reporting functions, as well as enterprise regulatory compliance.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)
- Globally, more than 16,800 employees participated in our Kaleidoscope program to learn about core DE&I concepts, implement inclusive behaviours and create safe spaces for conversation.
- Completed Phase 1 of Progressive Aboriginal Relations certification and partnered with First Nations University to deliver 4 Seasons of Reconciliation in Canada, an Indigenous cultural awareness program about Indigenous history, protocol, approach and etiquette in line with our commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Learn more about our Indigenous Commitments.
- Defined DE&I performance goals for all Senior VPs across Sun Life. The goals are tied to actions that can help achieve our 2025 commitments. This measure is to build accountability and ensure every business area reaches representation goals independently.
- Achieved balanced gender representation in our Board of Directors, with 55% of Board members self-identifying as women2.
Client experience
- Enhanced our mobile claims experience for Clients in Canada. Through the mobile app, Clients can now more conveniently coordinate benefits claims for themselves and their dependents.
Talent management
- Invested over $34 million in training and development to support employee growth (up 36% from 2021)3. This amount covered in-house learning programs as well as external conferences, seminars and courses. On average, employees spent 20 hours participating in learning activities during the year4.
Learn more about how Sun Life is operating as a trusted and responsible business
Footnotes:
1 Emissions resulting from global corporate offices and data centres as well as from business travel, inclusive of majority-owned Sun Life affiliate companies. DentaQuest corporate offices are excluded for the 2022 reporting cycle. All emissions reporting is aligned to the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard using the financial control approach. Absolute operational emissions increased 22.6% from 2021 to 2022 largely due to post-pandemic related business operations.
2 Effective February 7, 2023, upon the appointment of Joseph Natale to Sun Life's Board of Directors, 50% of Sun Life's Board of Directors self-identify as women.
3 2022 figure reflects resumption of some training and development and conferencing activities which were cancelled or delayed due to the pandemic. Refer to Sustainability Data Scope - Note 1.
4 Refer to Sustainability Data Scope - Note 5.
