Month: June 2023

NEW YORK, June 22, 2023 /3BL/ – MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) today released its 2022 Sustainability Report, detailing how the company lives up to its purpose, contributes to more confident futures, and creates a virtuous circle of shared value for its customers, colleagues, communities and shareholders.

Sustainability is integral to MetLife’s business. MetLife’s sustainability strategy is guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the company remains committed to driving meaningful impact around the world.

MetLife’s goal is to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world and to make progress towards its 2030 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Commitments and environmental commitments. This year’s report highlights MetLife’s progress against these goals and how the company serves as a force for good, including:

Awarding $37.9 million in grants in 2022 through MetLife Foundation’s Economic Inclusion, Financial Health and Resilient Communities portfoliosContinuing to support a resilient and thriving environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 49% since 2019, planting ~800,000 trees since 2020, and maintaining carbon neutrality, which MetLife has done since becoming the first U.S.-based insurer to achieve the status in 2016Securing over $77 billion in responsible investments managed by MetLife Investment Management as of year-end 2022Originating ~$885 million in DEI investments in 2022, nearly completing MetLife’s commitment of $1 billion by 2030Expanding its 360Health offering throughout Asia in 2022 to help more customers improve their mental, physical, financial and social healthEarning the status of a certified Great Place to Work® in eight of its markets based on the feedback and experience of MetLife colleaguesCompleting 109,000+ volunteer hours in 2022, advancing MetLife towards its commitment of 800,000 volunteer hours by 2030

To read the 2022 Sustainability Report and learn more about MetLife’s sustainability commitments and progress, visit MetLife.com/Sustainability.

# # #

About MetLife 
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help individual and institutional customers build a more confident future. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
The forward-looking statements in this news release, using words such as “commitment” “continuing,” “goal,” “long-term” and “remains” and other words and terms of similar meaning are based on assumptions and expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, including the “Risk Factors” MetLife, Inc. describes in its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. MetLife’s future results could differ, and it does not undertake any obligation to publicly correct or update any forward-looking statements if MetLife, Inc. later becomes aware that such statement is not likely to be achieved. Please consult any further disclosures MetLife, Inc. makes on related subjects in subsequent reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

For Media: 
Brian Blaser 
(212) 578-2415 
bblaser@metlife.com

Schneider Electric

An original approach on the Energy Transition

Climate change concerns are at an all-time high. In 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its 6th Assessment Report, following a previous one in 2014. At the launch of the first part of this report in summer 2021, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called it a “Code Red for Humanity”. Science has now made clear that preventing global warming above 1.5 degrees will be essential to mitigate major adverse effects to our way of life. But, to remain within such boundaries requires a complete change of paradigm: greenhouse gas emissions should decline 30-50% by 2030 and be zeroed by mid-century. Progress has remained slow, however. At global level, the carbon intensity of energy use has notably stagnated across most sectors of activity in the last 20 years (except in the power generation sector where it dropped by around 15%). An energy transition of momentous proportions is therefore ahead of us.

But not all geographies will face such challenge in the same way. A fast-developing economy like India will have, for instance, to combine both a rapid economic development, in great need of secured and affordable energy, with a necessary transition away from fossil fuels. The way this will be addressed will to a large extent define the future of the Indian energy system. Moreover, India is on the path to become one of the dominant economies of the 21st century in the coming decades. Its potential for development is mind-blowing. What this means is that the way the Indian energy system will develop will not only impact India, but also affect the entire world. In other words, given the size of the Indian economy, every choice the country makes today will deeply influence the way some of the world’s most pressing challenges are resolved tomorrow, prime of which that of climate change.

The positive side of this argument, however, is that these choices are yet to be made. There is a “window of opportunity”. The purpose of this report is to positively contribute to this discussion. It departs from other and similar analyses in two ways.

First, this report adopts a long view: it explores the evolution of the energy system from 2000 all the way to 2070. Second, this report focuses on energy services (or energy demand). An energy system is indeed more than a system of energy stocks and flows, as often depicted, but rather the complex stratification of a variety of energy services (or uses, or practices) which affect a multitude of socio-technical systems and depend on a variety of environmental, economical, technological, institutional and cultural patterns. These services are not necessarily directly related to energy. They are the product of what we do with energy: the machines and appliances we run, the boilers or furnaces we use for heating, the vehicles we drive, etc. Some of these energy services, while existing today, may be considerably improved (and transformed) by modern technologies. They will also continue to evolve as technology develops. Other energy services may not exist today but could emerge as the result of evolutions in the technological (and economical, institutional, and cultural) landscape. The bottom line of this is that fostering a transition away from the current energy system toward a new one requires a greater focus on such services, both in terms of the impact of their inevitable development, but also in terms of the extent to which they could contribute to reaching a secured, affordable, and net-zero energy system.

In this report, we explore 12 of those in detail and model the impact of their development within the future energy system of India.

Schneider Electric
Vincent Petit, SVP Climate and Energy Transition Research, head of the Schneider ElectricTM Sustainability Research Institute
Vincent Minier, VP Energy Transition Research, Schneider ElectricTM Sustainability Research Institute
Rohit Chashta, Deputy General Manager, Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Strategy, Schneider Electric India Operations
Venkat Garimella, VP Strategy and Sustainability, Schneider Electric India Operations

Enerdata
Quentin Bchini, Project Manager, Global Energy Forecasting, Enerdata

Magali Mellon, Project Specialist, Global Energy Forecasting, Enerdata

Download pdf

Kingfisher plc, the international home improvement retailer, has made further progress against its responsible business priorities, including reducing its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 52.6% since 2016/7, exceeding its 2025/26 science-based target.

The details are published in Kingfisher’s annual Responsible Business Report, ‘Better Homes for Everyone 2022/23’, which shows that the business has made strong progress with its responsible business priorities during the financial year.

Key 2022/23 achievements:

Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions across the Group reduced by 52.6% since 2016/17Over £6.2bn (46.8%) of Group sales* were from products that help create more sustainable homes2.1m people reached through community projects since 2016/17, surpassing 2025/26 target of 2m ahead of schedule

Thierry Garnier, CEO of Kingfisher, said: “Leading the industry in responsible business and energy efficiency is a key part of our ‘Powered by Kingfisher’ strategy. Our purpose is to ‘make better homes accessible for everyone’ and we aim to do that in a way that serves the current and future needs of our communities, customers, colleagues and planet.

“Over the last year, we made strong progress across many of our targets. We have made a very good start towards our new ambition to reach net zero operational emissions by 2040, as well as further reducing our Scope 3 emissions, which are particularly challenging for retailers to address. Our colleagues are what make our business and we are proud that this year we delivered 2.6 million hours of skills for life learning to help our people reach their full potential.

“We have a great opportunity to help create more sustainable homes through our products and services, and to contribute to a more sustainable future through our business. We look forward to making further progress on our goals this year.”

Highlights from the report include:

Progress on carbon emissions reduction
Kingfisher has exceeded its 2025/26 1.5°C-aligned science-based target to reduce the emissions from its operations (scope 1 and 2). In 2022/23, carbon emissions were 52.6% lower than its 2016/17 baseline. The Group remains committed to becoming net zero across its operations by 2040/41.

Kingfisher has also reduced emissions from its supply chain and customer use of products (scope 3) by 34.1% per £million of turnover since 2017/18, remaining on track to achieve its target of 40% by 2025.

Responsibly sourced wood and paper
Continued progress towards a target of 100% responsibly sourced wood and paper in its products and catalogues by 2025/26. This year, 94.5% of wood and paper in products were responsibly sourced as well as 100% of catalogue paper.

As a founding member of the Rainforest Alliance Forest Allies initiative, Kingfisher continued to invest in six forest projects in key tropical sourcing regions. In addition, four local projects in the UK, France and Poland launched this year to support forest protection and restoration efforts.

Helping customers live in more sustainable homes
In 2021/22 46.8% (£6.2 billion) of total Group sales came from Sustainable Home Products (SHPs), including 10.6% derived from energy and water-saving products.

Gender diversity is improving
Kingfisher is working towards achieving 35% women in senior leadership and 40% in management by 2025. This year, 25.8% of senior leaders and 38.9% of managers were women.

Kingfisher provided 2.6 million hours of skills for life learning for its colleagues and 6.6 million since 2019/20, surpassing the Group’s target of five million learning hours by 2025/26.

Supporting communities and fixing bad housing
In 2022/23, a total of £8.2m was invested in community projects through fundraising, products and contributions. Since 2016/16, Kingfisher has reached 2.1 million people, surpassing its target of 2 million ahead of schedule.

About Kingfisher
Kingfisher plc is an international home improvement company with over 1,900 stores, supported by a team of over 80,000 colleagues. We operate in eight countries across Europe under retail banners including Screwfix, B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt, TradePoint and Koçtaş. We offer home improvement products and services to consumers and trade professionals who shop in our stores and via our e-commerce channels. At Kingfisher, our purpose is to help make better homes accessible for everyone. www.kingfisher.com

*Total sales for year ending 31st January 2023 were £13,059m.

Read More

Another reframing of value was introduced by Harvard professor Michael Porter and management consultant Mark Kramer in Harvard Business Review in 2011.[i] Noting that “the capitalist system is under siege” and that “in recent years business has increasingly been viewed as a major cause of social, environmental, and economic problems”, Porter and Kramer proposed creating shared value as a solution. They were at pains to point out that shared value “is not social responsibility, philanthropy, or even sustainability, but a new way to achieve economic success.”

The basic idea is to reconnect company success with social progress. More specifically, shared value includes “policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates.” The example Porter and Kramer cite is investing in the productivity of farmers in the supply chain. The outcome is better for the farmers and better for the company. They contrast this shared value approach with CSR, which they perceive as philanthropy, and fairtrade, which they characterise as simply paying a fairer price for farmers’ produce.

Shared value proposes three main strategic reorientations: 1) Re-conceiving products and markets by seeking out social problems where serving consumers and contributing to the common good might be achieved in parallel; 2) Redefining productivity in the value chain by simultaneously enhancing the social, environmental, and economic capabilities of supply chain members; and 3) Enabling local cluster development so that various developmental goals can be achieved in cooperation with suppliers and local institutions.

Shared value has not been without its vehement critics, mostly from other academics. The first criticism is that the concept is not new or unique. At the very least, we can say that it strongly echoes the work of C.K. Prahalad and Stuart Hart on inclusive business, Jed Emerson on blended value and earlier scholars on corporate social responsibility and corporate social performance. Unfortunately, apparently due to Harvard Business Review’s style guidelines, Porter and Kramer did not acknowledge any of the work that preceded theirs. As a result, Hart on one occasion accused them of intellectual piracy.

A second criticism is that the way they characterise CSR and fairtrade are outdated and frankly inaccurate. ISO 26000, published in 2010, describes social responsibility as a holistic practice that goes beyond its philanthropic roots, covering seven core subjects (human rights, labour rights, environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, organisational governance and community involvement and development). Similarly, besides offering farmers a better price for their produce, the fairtrade movement has been promoting improved seed varieties and delivering training to enhance farmer skills and improve crop yields for years.

Despite these criticisms, we must give Porter and Kramer their due. Shared value injected a new energy into the debate about the role of business in society. It cleverly changed the language of social responsibility into the language of value creation, which business leaders can better understand, and it has challenged the narrow definition of corporate purpose to go beyond profit maximisation. The result has been a better alignment between companies’ core strategy and the social problems that it can have an impact on.

The concept has also not stood still, as Kramer elaborated in our AMS-ABIS Value Creation Roundtable. Some of that evolutionary work has been on the “ecosystem of shared value,” as he describes in an article with Marc Pfitzer on the subject.[ii] The collective impact movement that has facilitated successful collaborations in the social sector can guide businesses in bringing together the various actors in their ecosystems (such as governments, NGOs, companies and community members) to help remedy some of the world’s most urgent problems.

In order to create shared value through this collective-impact approach, Kramer and Pfitzer suggest that five elements must be in place: (1) a common agenda, which helps align the players’ efforts and defines their commitment; (2) a shared measurement system; (3) mutually reinforcing activities; (4) constant communication, which builds trust and ensures mutual objectives; and (5) dedicated “backbone” support, delivered by a separate, independently funded staff, which builds public will, advances policy, and mobilises resources.

One of the adopters of shared value is Nestlé, which believes it “is about ensuring long-term, sustainable value creation for shareholders while tackling societal issues at the same time.” They express their commitment to shared value in three interconnected impact areas – individuals and families, communities and the planet – which allow them to fulfil their purpose “to unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come.” These translate into long term shared value ambitions: for individuals and families, to help 50 million children lead healthier lives; for communities, to improve 30 million livelihoods in communities directly connected to our business activities; and for the planet, to strive for zero environmental impact in our operations.

[i] Porter, M.E. & Kramer, M.R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1): 2-17.

[ii] Kramer, M.R. & Pfitzer, M.W. (2016). The ecosystem of shared value. Harvard Business Review, October.