Global Sustainability Governance
Global Sustainability Governance
Recognizing the continued importance of sustainability matters to both MetLife’s business and stakeholders, MetLife’s sustainability efforts, including the monitoring and management of ESG risks and opportunities, are coordinated across the enterprise. MetLife considers a broad array of factors, including those related to sustainability, in evaluating business decisions.
Operationally, MetLife’s Sustainability function is part of MetLife’s Corporate Affairs department and is dedicated to sustainability strategy, management and reporting. The Chief Sustainability Officer leads the Sustainability function, coordinating with other senior executives to help drive progress across the organization. MetLife’s Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Affairs, who reports directly to the CEO, oversees the function.
Additionally, MetLife’s leaders include sustainability in annual performance objectives as part of a shared goal for MetLife’s Executive Leadership Team.
MetLife colleagues are responsible for driving progress toward MetLife’s Next Horizon strategy, which includes making progress on sustainability commitments. Please see For Our Colleagues to learn more regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-specific governance.
MetLife’s Sustainability function has responsibilities relating to, among other things:
- Directing and integrating MetLife’s sustainability strategy, target-setting activities, commitments, policies and key performance indicators across the enterprise;
- Summarizing MetLife’s sustainability performance and metrics in an annual report;
- Aligning disclosures to key reporting frameworks, including the Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures; and
- Managing and monitoring sustainability issues and opportunities relevant to MetLife.
In addition to day-to-day management of MetLife’s sustainability efforts and overseeing the publication and governance of MetLife’s Sustainability Report, the Sustainability function regularly reports to MetLife’s Board of Directors and its committees on relevant sustainability issues, the company’s progress toward its goals and sustainability’s impact on the business, as well as helping advance the Board’s collective knowledge of sustainable development. MetLife’s CEO has final sign-off on the publication of the annual Sustainability Report, and the report is shared with the Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee of the Board of Directors annually.
Within the Finance function, MetLife has an ESG Financial Reporting Controller focused on guiding the company in accounting related to areas of emerging regulation and promoting compliance and transparency in regulatory reporting. The ESG Financial Reporting Controller supports regulated and voluntary reporting containing ESG information.
We have also established a Sustainability Reporting Steering Committee that oversees sustainability regulatory and reporting disclosures, and is responsible for the consistency and appropriate control oversight of such disclosures.
Government Relations tracks the development of sustainability-related regulations across MetLife markets and advocates for MetLife’s interests through dialogue with policymakers. MetLife’s Compliance and Legal teams lead preparations for implementation of new sustainability regulations in partnership with relevant partners across the company.
