Human rights

Respecting fundamental human rights.

We strive to uphold human rights in our decisions regarding solution design, employee treatment, supply chain governance and general account investment management.

Our approach

Our approach is guided by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and our commitment to respecting human rights is reflected in four core principles1:

We commit to respecting human rights across our business

We are all accountable for respecting human rights

We seek to understand and address our human rights impacts

We are committed to transparency on our human rights approach

These principles are supported by policies and practices addressing topics such as fair and ethical employment practices, health and safety, harassment and discrimination and procurement across our global operations.

The principles help guide our people, as well as suppliers, in respecting human rights and applicable laws.

Respecting human rights is an ongoing journey. Sun Life is committed to advancing our approach and continuous improvement – for our people, our Clients and the communities we serve – as part of being a trusted and responsible business.

Learn more about our commitment, governance and approach to human rights and also refer to our Code of Conduct.

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Sustainability topics

We’re focused on taking action on 16 priority sustainability topics that our stakeholders identify as most important and that we believe have the biggest impact on our business.

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Inclusion and belonging

Inclusion and belonging are essential to our culture, core to our values and connected to long-term business objectives. We aim to deliver clear value for our colleagues, Clients and communities as we align with local needs and expectations.

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1 For Sun Life Financial Inc., inclusive of Sun Life Canada, Sun Life US, Sun Life Asia, and investments in Sun Life’s general account, the management approach to respecting human rights is reflected in human rights principles.  These principles do not apply to the Corporation’s asset managers.  Sun Life’s asset managers have their own approaches to human rights, given the unique nature of each asset manager.