Responsible Business

Unum is proud to be a values-driven, purpose-led organisation. We’re committed to doing the right thing for our customers, our colleagues and our communities — as well as the planet we all share.

We are Unum

Being a socially responsible business is at the heart of our “We are Unum” values. Our vision is to be recognised as a leading employee benefits provider that helps the working world thrive throughout life’s moments. We reinforce this through our commitments and actions to being a responsible employer, our inclusive products and services, and our impact on the environment.

Our Responsible Business commitments

We support people when they’re vulnerable and need us the most. We feel what we do is good for society and our mission is to help more people.

Yet it’s more than helping people in need — it’s about operating in the right way as a business. We are dedicated to doing the right thing for all our stakeholders, including our customers, employees, communities and the environment.

All this on top of the important business of supporting people physically, emotionally and financially whenever they need us, potentially through the most challenging times of their lives.

Our journey
Corporate Social Responsibility journey

Through our ongoing commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, Unum has a longstanding history of giving back to those most in need within our communities. But as the expectations of our customers, employees, suppliers and community partners rapidly evolve, particularly post-pandemic, we know that being a Responsible Business goes much further than that.

So, in 2021, we partnered with Business in the Community (BITC), the UK’s largest and longest established business-led membership organisation dedicated to Responsible Business, to help us develop our new Responsible Business Strategy.

At the core of this was understanding and analysing the Responsible Business issues of most importance to our key stakeholders, so we undertook a materiality assessment to help us prioritise the material issues where Unum could make the biggest difference and deliver the most societal and environmental value.

Following this assessment and taking into account some of the issues ranked most highly by our stakeholders, we have developed a clear, actionable, and measurable Responsible Business Strategy which is built on four core pillars.

Core pillars
Responsible Business Strategy

Our four pillars focus on the critical action areas that we will prioritise as a business to ensure that we strive to meet our vision of being recognised as an employee benefits provider that is inherently good for society.

Inclusive products & services
Doing the right thing for our customers and society

Prioritising people in need of our support by providing products, services and practices that reflect our customers’ needs and the societies they live in.
Responsible employer
Doing the right thing for our employees

Creating a healthy, diverse and inclusive workforce in a workplace where everyone is valued and respected.
Environmental impact
Doing the right thing for our planet

Systemically reducing our environmental impact year-on-year and ensuring a minimal impact from environmental issues on our business.
Responsible investments
Doing the right thing for our stakeholders

Being a responsible steward of the assets we manage and actively using environmental, social and governance factors when making investment decisions, all while delivering consistent long-term returns for our stakeholders.

Our Responsible Business Strategy is underpinned by solid foundations. We have a continued and proud strong focus on: community outreach; ethics, governance and compliance; and privacy and cybersecurity.

Business in the community
Responsible Business Tracker

To demonstrate our commitment to continued improvements, we participated in the Business in the Community Responsible Business Tracker for the first time in 2021. The Tracker helped us identify our strengths and areas for improvement, so we can ensure we drive responsible change to support our communities, customers and the planet.

The Prince's Responsible Business Network
Responsible Business Tracker

Planet Mark certification

We are proud to be Planet Mark certified since 2021, recognising our efforts to Continually advancing our environment and sustainability goals

Continually advance our environment and sustainability goals
Encourage environmental action
Be part of an empowered community of like-minded individuals
Progress on reducing our environmental impact
Measure our societal contributions across our communities

Becoming Planet Mark certified involved measuring our carbon footprint and taking responsibility for our emissions, as well as our positive contribution to society — today and tomorrow.

It is part of our pledge to maintain a positive impact on our planet and society and is an accolade of which Unum is proud. For more information about Planet Mark visit their website.

Planet Mark: Sustainability Certification