We strive to make a real difference, especially through our global philanthropic cause focused on type 2 diabetes awareness and prevention. We harness the full breadth of our resources, including our people and expertise, to generate a positive health and wellness impact for communities around the world.
Sun Life has a long-standing focus on community health and wellness. In line with our Purpose, we invest in initiatives and partnerships that help people live healthier lives.
Ensuring wellness opportunities are accessible to everyone is important to Sun Life. We evolved our giving program to place a bigger focus on advancing inclusion through our community work. For example, we embedded inclusion into Sun Life’s philanthropy strategy to support those who need help the most. We aim to play a greater role in addressing health barriers and challenges facing historically underserved and marginalized communities.
We require that all charitable donations and philanthropic spending are reported to our Donations Committee and go through our donations approval framework. The Executive team and the Governance Committee of the Board of Directors review this reporting annually. Refer to our Sustainability Report for more details on the initiatives we support.
Diabetes is a global epidemic that is estimated to affect 1.3 billion people by 20501. That’s why Sun Life has committed to helping slow the advance of diabetes and its related complications. We're unlocking access to the products, solutions, and resources people need to prevent type 2 diabetes, support remission and access care to live their healthiest lives.
Since we announced our commitment in 2012, we have contributed $57.9 million to the cause globally. Examples of our support include the Sun Life Diabetes Prevention and Remission Clinic with the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation in Canada, the Sun Life Health Access grant program and #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes in the U.S., and the Hoops + Health program in our markets across Asia.
In addition to our focus on diabetes awareness and prevention, Sun Life is also deeply committed to improving mental health and well-being, particularly for those from underserved communities who are often disproportionately affected by mental health challenges. We recognize the importance of investing in mental health support and improving access to mental health care. Our employees, our Clients and the communities we support all benefit from these investments.
Sun Life employees and advisors generously volunteer, donate to, and participate in causes that they are passionate about. These include initiatives that contribute to the health and well-being of communities.
Sun Life supports employees’ community work, tailored to locally relevant health causes within each of our markets. In North America, for example, our You Give We Give program provides donation matching when employees contribute their time or money to registered charitable organizations.
Learn more about our employee giving program in our annual Public Accountability Statement.
In progress - $11 million donated (FY24)
Learn more about our progress and performance in our 2024 Sustainability Report and Sustainability Performance Tables.
Sun Life is expanding its partnership with Spirit North with a $1 million commitment in funding over three years.
Sun Life Hong Kong won the Outstanding Campaign for Targeted Community award by The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers at the Hong Kong Insurance Awards 2024 for Hoops + Health. This award honors exceptional marketing campaigns that have successfully reached and engaged a specific, underserved, or niche audience.
For the 2nd consecutive year, Sun Life Singapore was recognized at the Singapore Community Chest Awards. In 2024, we received the Charity Gold Award following a Charity Silver Award in 2023. The award recognizes companies with an unwavering dedication to creating outstanding social impact in the community.
1 The Lancet. “Global, regional and national burden of diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with projections of prevalence to 2050”. 2023.
2 Includes Asia Joint Ventures (Malaysia and India).
3 Underserved groups are groups of people that have been historically excluded from or deprioritized in the financial industry, including underinsured or uninsured populations. Underserved groups will differ across countries but generally include low-income individuals, the emerging middle-class in developing economies, people with chronic health issues and disabilities, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, underrepresented ethnicities, religious groups, immigrants, and those living in rural communities.
Refer to Sustainability Data Scope.
