2018 Corporate Responsibility Report

Environmental

We're committed to helping protect the valuable resources that we all depend on to support quality of life for everyone. We do by striving to effectively manage our impact on the environment. Our facilities account for our biggest environmental impacts, and we have made significant strides in several areas to measure our impact and improve efficiencies to reduce our carbon footprint.

Focus areas

Whether it's through installing touch-free faucets and flush valves to reduce water consumption or replacing fluorescent and incandescent lighting fixtures with LED lighting, we're continually looking for innovative ways to green the operation of our buildings. Our environmental sustainability work focuses in three primary areas: carbon and energy, water, and waste minimization.

Carbon & Energy

Minimizing our environmental footprint

Saving energy and reducing carbon emissions is the most significant opportunity we have to reduce our company-wide environmental impact.

To reduce carbon emissions, Unum strives for facility operational excellence. Along with a developing energy management program, Unum is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by improving its energy efficiency.

Water

8.6%

Reduction in year-over-year portfolio potable water usage

Water

Conserving is a key part of a successful strategy

We recognize water is a limited resource and stress sustainable management of the water we use.

Because the majority of our water consumption comes from employee activity and our facilities, we're working to improve monitoring systems, set meaningful goals and improve overall water efficiency.

The Green Team

Leslie Bell is helping protect our world for the good of future generations.

Read Leslie's Story

Waste Minimization

Wasting less, recycling more

We try to make it as easy as possible for our employees to think about recycling before they consider something waste.

We promote reduction and reuse of resources, and are committed to improving waste and recycling programs and reducing waste generation.

Waste Minimization

2.7%

Reduction in year-over-year portfolio paper recycling, saving over 15 tons of paper

Driving change

In 2017, we began a multimillion-dollar workplace improvement program to turn our traditional workspaces into more open and collaborative spaces and to help us minimize our impact on the environment. At completion, our primary facilities will feature lighting control systems that use motion sensors and daylight harvesting, touch-free faucets and flush valves to reduce water consumption, more than 18,000 new LED lights resulting in a projected annual savings of 2 million kilowatt hours per year, centralized waste and recycling stations, and other upgrades that align with our primary reduction goals.

Involving our employees

Many of our people share a personal commitment to conserving resources and protecting our environment, so we look for ways to get employees involved. Employees on Unum's Green Team are dedicated to engaging our workforce in environmental responsibility at the office and in our communities. They've organized and hosted annual events celebrating sustainability, including America Recycles Day and Earth Day to showcase our commitment to sustainability and raise awareness in our communities.

In 2018, Unum initiated new and improved recycling programs at our corporate campuses. The Green Teams helped educate our employees by creating instructional signage and guiding employees though the process of separating food waste and sorting recyclable materials from non-recyclable materials. Their efforts have helped make these programs successful.

Looking ahead

As a financial services company, most of our environmental impacts come from our facilities and operations. This year and beyond, we expect to further reduce our corporate environmental impact by: