Our commitment

At Sun Life, being a responsible corporate citizen is all about making life brighter for the communities where we live and work.

We’re proud that we are helping to make a difference around the world. Read our achievements to see the awards and recognition that Sun Life, our employees and our global partners have received.

Our first priority is to ensure that our product and service offerings fulfill our mission to help our customers achieve lifetime financial security. Beyond that, our commitment to good citizenship focuses on several main areas:

Ensuring strong corporate governance

Our business is based on trust. Trust in our products and services. Trust that we’ll guide the company in a way that upholds the confidence of our customers, shareholders and business partners around the world.

Building trust and maintaining our reputation depends on the decisions we make, the values we follow, our leadership strength and the personal integrity of each and every employee.

It depends on having a strong and independent Board of Directors, as well as disciplined processes to mitigate various kinds of risk – operational, market and others.

It’s all part of good corporate governance. And it’s at the heart of what we do every day.

Building healthier futures

Healthy communities have brighter futures. It’s that simple.

One way to have healthier communities is to promote the benefits of illness prevention.

Sun Life supports innovative organizations around the world that encourage people from all walks of life to take a proactive approach to caring for their own health and well-being. In 2009, we acted on our strong commitment to health and well-being with financial contributions of $4 million around the world – almost half of our total giving.

Supporting arts and culture

We believe that arts and culture make a tremendous contribution to our communities. We are proud to help support and celebrate cultural institutions around the world. It’s part of our commitment to excellence.

In Canada, for example, our Making the Arts More Accessible program brings the joy of the performing and visual arts to thousands of individuals, families and children who wouldn’t otherwise experience them.

Giving back to our communities

Together with our subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and advisors, Sun Life contributed more than $9.8 million to charitable, non-profit and community programs around the world in 2009.

We supported disaster relief through the Sun Life Financial International Response Fund with the Canadian Red Cross, helping the agency react instantly to international disaster relief efforts, including recent disasters in the Philippines, Haiti and Chile.

In the U.S. we marked 14 years as corporate sponsor of the Boston Marathon’s Jimmy Fund Walk, raising funds in support of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institutive to continue the development of effective cancer therapies for children.

In Asia, Sun Life Hong Kong received its 8th “Caring Company” award from the Hong Kong Council of Social Service for the efforts of our Sun Life Shining Action group.

And Sun Life Everbright in China was named the “Most Generous Financial Corporation” for its corporate social responsibility.

Empowering through education

We support organizations and institutions whose innovative programs reach beyond the lecture hall – programs like our $100,000 permanent endowed bursary to Canada’s Seneca College Elder Planning Counselor Program. This influential program is taught by industry leaders and provides a look at various health and financial services targeted to the elderly.

In the U.S., we’ve committed US$1 million in grants and scholarships to establish a new program, the Sun Life Rising Star Awards, designed to encourage at-risk youth to stay in school.

In India, Birla Sun Life Insurance sponsors the Udaan “Career Guidance” Activity, to help “rootless and roofless” youth choose a future beyond the streets.

In Indonesia, our Sun Bright program focuses on education, through scholarships and assistance with tuition fees, supplies and equipment. And in China and the Philippines, we provide scholarship programs.

Working toward a sustainable future

Life’s brighter when the future is sustainable. We believe that sustainability begins at home, in the way we manage our buildings, improve the environment in our offices, and conserve water, electricity and paper to help lighten our environmental footprint.

Sustainability also means investing in the future from an environmental and social perspective. It’s why we’re a leader in the Canadian financial services sector when it comes to investing in projects of environmental value, such as those that provide clean and renewable energy. And why we continue to invest millions in projects of social value like schools, medical facilities and other essential services.

In 2009 and early 2010, Sun Life received 7 commendations at the national, North American and global levels for our sustainability initiatives. For the third consecutive year, we are a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America. And we were once again included in the Financial Times and London Stock Exchange’s FTSE4Good Index, which recognizes companies meeting globally recognized standards for environmental sustainability, social betterment, stakeholder relations and human rights protection. We’re also proud to be one of the 2010 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World for managing social, environmental and governance issues.

Read more about these priorities in our Public Accountability Statement.

• Section highlights
• CEO message
• Our commitment
• Donations & sponsorships
• Philanthropy program guidelines
• Employee giving
• Sustainability
• Public Accountability Statement
• Global programs