Manulife Financial Corp. is linking its executive team goals to the company’s climate action plan, including committing to a net-zero focus by reducing emissions operationally, adopting sustainable investing practices and developing solutions that contribute to climate change mitigation.
Members of the organization’s executive leadership team already have performance goals linked to diversity, equity and inclusion, employee engagement and leadership accountability. Now, they’ll also have goals linked to Manulife’s climate action plan.
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“Through the commitments we’ve set out today, we are accelerating work to reduce our own emissions and build a portfolio of climate-smart investments,” said Roy Gori, president and chief executive officer of Manulife Financial, in a press release. “In making clear commitments on climate, we are setting a robust plan for our operations and our own investments. We are actively developing innovative products and services designed to contribute towards the urgent, global fight against climate change.”
While the organization’s carbon removals from its substantial owned and operated forests and farmland outweigh its company-wide operational emissions, Manulife Financial is further committing to a 35 per cent reduction in absolute scope one and two emissions by 2035, through steps such as enhanced efficiency measures, fuel switching and use of onsite renewables in its buildings.
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To steer its investment portfolio toward net-zero by 2050, Manulife is focusing first on the heavy-emitting industries, such as power generation, to establish near term emissions reduction targets.
And to create a meaningful impact, Manulife Financial is committing to the science-based targets initiative (developed jointly by the World Wildlife Federation, World Resources Institute, United Nations Global Impact group and the CDP Worldwide) to guide its target setting, measurement and progress reporting. The company also intends to grow its $39.8 billion portfolio of green investments, such as renewable energy and energy-efficient real estate.