Sustainability

What does it mean at Sun Life to act today for a sustainable future?

It means assuring our customers, governments, employees and our communities that we are in business for the long haul.

It means respecting our environment, through the operation of green buildings, providing for teleconferencing instead of traveling, conserving energy and doing what we can to reduce solid waste.

It means investing in our environmental and social future. It’s why we’re a leader in the Canadian financial services sector in making strategic investments in projects of environmental value. And why we invest millions of dollars in schools, hospitals, medical research facilities and other projects that contribute social value to our communities around the world.

Sustainability is part of who we are as a company. A company who cares about the world’s future – and the future of our business.

In our buildings

We’re taking significant steps to reduce our carbon footprint. How? By consuming less and diverting more waste and adopting sustainable building and development practices for new projects.

We occupy almost 2.8 million square feet of office space in Canada alone. In 2009 in our Canadian headquarters, we recycled 460 tonnes of paper, 26 tonnes of cardboard and 32 tonnes of glass, plastics and cans. We sent 925 printer cartridges for recycling, along with 1,490 kg of electronic waste.

We also recycled more than 45 tonnes of metals, wood and glass, and more than 17,000 kg of steel valves from our construction and clean-up projects. And, for the first time, we implemented food waste recycling in our cafeterias, sending 42 tonnes of organic waste to be recycled as compost for a tree farm.

In our new building projects, we incorporated LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) principles into the design of 8 new office and light industrial developments throughout Canada and in the U.S. In the Philippines, we began construction of the Sun Life Centre. Upon certification, it will be one of the first LEED designated buildings in the Philippines.

In our business

We’re an international company headquartered in Canada with offices throughout the world. While some business travel is necessary at times, we’re finding ways to reduce it.

Teleconferencing and web conferencing help us bring people together while reducing our carbon footprint. In 2009, we upgraded our video conferencing rooms in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.

We’re committed to using Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) -certified paper for our Annual Report, Public Accountability Statement and other printed corporate publications.

And in 2009, we took our paperless commitment a step further, expanding our electronic claims submissions in Canada for our group benefits plan members.

Investing in clean and renewable energy

We’ve been investing in clean and renewable energy for more than 26 years. In 2009 we invested $160 million in green and renewable energy projects. And more than $28 million was invested in natural gas / cogeneration projects which use waste heat from neighbouring industries to create electricity.

For more information on our renewable energy projects, see our Public Accountability Statement.

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• Sustainability
• Public Accountability Statement
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