Sun Life Financial named as one of the 2014 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World

TORONTO, Jan. 22, 2014 /CNW/ - For the fourth consecutive year, Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) ("Sun Life Financial") has been named among the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (the "Global 100").

Sun Life Financial is one of only 13 Canadian companies across all industry sectors to make the Global 100, and this is the eighth year that Sun Life Financial has appeared on the list. 2014 marks the tenth year of the Global 100 ranking by Corporate Knights.

"At Sun Life, sustainability represents an assurance that we are invested in the future," says Mary De Paoli, Executive Vice-President, Public & Corporate Affairs and Chief Marketing Officer, Sun Life Financial. "We have a proud legacy of nearly 150 years in business, and we want to ensure that we keep advancing our efforts for our customers around the world, helping them achieve lifetime financial security."

"Being recognized on the Global 100 list validates our sustainability efforts," said Philip Gillin, Senior Managing Director and Head of Canadian Property Investments, and Chair of Sun Life Financial's International Sustainability Council. "Integrating sustainability is part of our business initiatives, like our investments in sustainable real estate developments and renewable energy projects; and our ongoing business practices like paperless claims, payments and statements, and wireless services like our mobile app."

Some of the ways Sun Life Financial and its subsidiaries support sustainability initiatives are through investments and changes in traditional business operations, including:

• Investing in the development of a sustainable shopping centre with a low environmental impact in British Columbia.
• Financing sustainable energy projects in Toronto, allowing for low-cost and environmentally sound urban heating and cooling solutions.
• Co-financing a series of solar farms in Ontario aimed at delivering power for up to 10,800 homes.
• Paperless practices, like e-claims, e-payments and online statements, are now standard for Sun Life Financial customers. As the first benefits provider in Canada to introduce these standards, these practices have greatly reduced the environmental impact of traditionally paper-heavy aspects of our business. 85% of claims are now electronic. Pay Direct Drug and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) represent the majority of our e-claims, totalling 35 million claims in 2013. Services like the Sun Life Financial mobile app provide customers a quick and easy way to access their benefits at any time. In 2013, e-claims submitted via website, mobile device, and service provider submission totalled more than 5.2 million.

The Global 100 list was announced today by Corporate Knights magazine at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Recently recognized as the world's most credible corporate sustainability ranking by Rate the Raters, the list consists of the 100 top-performing companies worldwide on a range of sector-specific sustainability metrics.

Other recognition
In addition to its Global 100 ranking, Sun Life Financial was ranked first out of 244 companies, for the second year in a row, in the Globe and Mail's eleventh annual review of corporate governance practices in Canada. Sun Life Financial is also on the Corporate Knights 2013 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada list, as well as the FTSE4Good and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America indexes. Sun Life Financial is the "Most Trusted Life Insurance Company" in Canada, according to the 2013 Reader's Digest Trusted Brand consumer survey.

For details on additional Sun Life Financial sustainability initiatives visit the Sustainability page on sunlife.com

About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers.  Sun Life Financial and its partners have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda.  As of September 30, 2013 the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $590 billion.  For more information please visit www.sunlife.com

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

SOURCE: Sun Life Financial Inc.

Gannon Loftus
Senior Media & PR Specialist
Corporate Communications
T. 416.979.6345
[email protected]