Case study: How Sun Life promotes ethical business conduct
As a leading international financial services organization, offering a range of services – from life insurance to asset management – and operating in various markets around the globe, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan and China, operating with integrity is a key priority for Sun Life.
This case study is based on the 2016 Sustainability Report by Sun Life published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Abstract
Providing a wide range of protection and wealth solutions to individuals, businesses and institutions, Sun Life is committed to building and maintaining stakeholder trust, not least by encouraging ethical behaviour throughout all of its activities. In order to promote ethical business conduct Sun Life took action to:
- train employees to adhere to key policies and guidelines
- promote ethical behaviour through the Code of Business Conduct
- enable employees to raise ethical concerns
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Sun Life has identified;
- How Sun Life proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Sun Life to promote ethical business conduct
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2016 Sustainability Report Sun Life identified a range of material issues, such as digital innovation, data security and privacy, talent management, workforce wellness, responsible investing. Among these, promoting ethical business conduct stands out as a key material issue for Sun Life.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Sun Life engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement | ||
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| · RFP processes · Regular meetings and briefings · Ongoing relationship management · Supplier risk assessment · Supplier Diversity Program | ||
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How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritize material topics Sun Life engaged both internal and external stakeholders through a stakeholder panel on sustainability. Stakeholders represented in the panel included clients, employees and advisors, investors, shareholders, government, advocacy groups, industry associations, sustainability think tanks, NGOs, community interest groups and academia.
What actions were taken by Sun Life to promote ethical business conduct?
In its 2016 Sustainability Report Sun Life reports that it took the following actions for promoting ethical business conduct:
- Training employees to adhere to key policies and guidelines
- All Sun Life employees receive annual mandatory training on key policies and guidelines, including the company’s Code of Business Conduct, Financial Crimes Awareness (focused on deterring fraud, combatting money laundering and terrorist financing, and rejecting corruption and bribery), Maintaining the Privacy and Security of Personal Information, Records Management and Security Awareness.
- Promoting ethical behaviour through the Code of Business Conduct
- Sun Life’s Code of Business Conduct sets out the company’s standards of honesty and integrity. Most importantly, all directors and employees have to comply with the Code of Business Conduct, reporting any misconduct. The Code covers topics such as fairness and safety in the workplace, deterring fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing, rejecting corruption and bribery, avoiding conflicts of interest, respecting privacy and confidentiality.
- Enabling employees to raise ethical concerns
- [tweetthis]An Employee Ethics Hotline enables Sun Life employees to report ethical misconduct.[/tweetthis] The Hotline can be accessed through a toll-free telephone number or a secure website and is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day in many languages.
Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?
The GRI indicators/Standards addressed in this case are:
1) G4-56: Describe the organization’s values, principles, standards and norms of behavior such as codes of conduct and codes of ethics – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 102-16 Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior
2) G4-SO4: Communication and training on anti-corruption policies and procedures – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Sun Life, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page
3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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