Committing to
Sustainability

Working together to help individuals and organizations meet their long-term financial needs is the heart of what we do. This forward-looking perspective aligns well with our commitment to sustainability — operating in such a way that future generations can continue to meet their needs and enjoy a healthy planet. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices are increasingly of interest to our policyowners, customers, employees, and communities, as well as within the institutional marketplace. ESG encompasses not only the work we do to secure a sustainable planet, but also how we care for stakeholders and operate our business with integrity.

Many aspects of ESG have been MassMutual priorities for years, and we have discussed these topics in past Annual and Corporate Responsibility Reports. Recognizing the growing importance of these issues, we advanced our efforts in 2021 by formalizing our sustainability governance structure. We are building on our progress to date by implementing key initiatives, integrating ESG principles into all aspects of our business, and fostering a culture of sustainability through collaboration and engagement. We are also communicating our efforts internally and externally to key stakeholders, and plan to publish our first Sustainability Report in 2022.

Operating Responsibly

Protecting the environment and addressing the effects of climate change are among the most pressing challenges our world faces today. As a company with a long-term view and a history of serving its customers and communities for 170 years, MassMutual is accelerating our sustainability efforts in both how we invest and how we run our business. We believe this approach will not only enhance our growth and profitability, but also enable us to create a better, more sustainable future for generations to come.

Institutional capital can and should play a role in helping the world transition to a low-carbon economy. Recognizing the importance of incorporating ESG factors in investment and ownership decisions, MassMutual became a signatory of the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), an international global network of asset managers, owners, and service providers working together to put responsible investment into practice. As a signatory, we have publicly pledged to adopt and implement the six principles, wherever they are consistent with commitments to our policyowners and customers, and to annually report on MassMutual’s progress. Addressing ESG as an enterprise creates opportunities beyond good corporate citizenship; it allows businesses to achieve longer sustainable returns in their portfolios, ultimately benefitting policyowners, customers, employees, and communities we serve.

MassMutual’s commitment to impact investing aligns directly with our corporate values and purpose. By adding an impact lens to our investment process, we can evaluate both our investment and real-world outcomes. MassMutual’s ESG Investment Policy outlines the philosophy and factors that we review as part of the asset allocation process and in selecting investments and investment managers. To date, MassMutual’s Impact Investment program has committed over $150 million toward investments that align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and in investment vehicles managed by Black, Latinx, and Indigenous managers.

Transitioning to Net Zero in Our Portfolio and Operations

MassMutual recognizes that a sustainable future requires immediate and collaborative action to create a path forward. That’s why we announced new commitments in 2021 that will transition both our portfolio and operations to net zero and advance a decarbonized economy. These commitments include:

Net zero operations by 2030: Achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in MassMutual’s operations by 2030 by embracing energy efficiency, purchasing renewable energy, and removing the remaining footprint through credible offsets.
Net zero investment portfolio by 2050: Transitioning to net zero GHG emissions in MassMutual’s investment portfolio by 2050 through responsible investment and stakeholder collaboration, making MassMutual the first U.S.-based mutual life insurance company to make this pledge.

$150M+

committed toward investments aligned with UNSDGs

Driving Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion

At MassMutual, we believe that companies — and particularly those in financial services — have an important role to play in addressing systems that uphold economic inequities. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has focused on education, action, and accountability for more than a decade. It is an integral part of our purpose and one of our business imperatives today and looking forward.

In 2021, MassMutual’s key areas of progress included engaging and educating employees, supporting diverse suppliers and championing diverse businesses in our communities. MassMutual CEO Roger Crandall is a signatory of CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ (CEO Action), the largest CEO-driven coalition to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In addition, we currently have six fellows participating in CEO Action for Racial Equity, a fellowship that provides the opportunity for CEO Action signatories to advance racial equity through public policy. CEO Action for Racial Equity has launched a policy agenda and corporate engagement strategies to address systemic racism, social injustice, and ways to improve societal well-being. The fellowship also held an inaugural virtual symposium with thought leaders, including national civil rights advocates and members of academia, in October 2021. CEO Action provides a platform for deepening our engagement on social justice issues and using the collective voice of the business community to impact change.

Our commitment to advancing DEI starts with our employees. We aim to create a workplace where employees from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and experiences are welcomed, valued, and heard. Specifically, we focus on providing transformative education, creating shared accountability for our results, and increasing transparency about the diversity of our workforce. We have incorporated DEI metrics into our annual incentive plans for the past four years.

MassMutual recently became one of the first financial services companies to publish our employee demographics externally. As of 2021, more than 50 percent of MassMutual’s Board of Directors is comprised of women and people of color, making it one of the most diverse groups in the industry and among FORTUNE 500 companies, and well above the benchmark of companies of our size. We believe that a diverse employee base and boardroom are critical to achieving financial success.

Beyond working toward diverse representation, MassMutual stands firmly and acts intentionally against racism and inequity in any form. We continue to educate employees and facilitate candid conversations about race and privilege. With the help of MassMutual’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs), we added learning opportunities for employees covering the impact of systemic racism toward Asian Americans and Latinos, along with a pathway that addresses biases faced by the LGBTQ+ community. Our eight employee-led BRGs are instrumental in nurturing a culture where every employee feels like they belong.

Further creating momentum among employees in support of the Black community, we have a long-term strategy that includes partnerships with schools and colleges to address achievement gaps, intentional relationships with external organizations to advocate for racial equality and justice, and providing access to capital to Black-owned businesses. Internally, this strategy is helping to promote economic empowerment through initiatives with our Black advisors and the customers they serve and increasing representation of Black employees at all levels at MassMutual.

Integrating DEI within our procurement operation helps ensure that MassMutual’s full buying power is leveraged to drive positive change. To that end, in 2021 we announced a $150 million commitment to utilizing underrepresented diverse businesses in our procurement operations. We will hold suppliers accountable through a new, industry-leading framework for assessing and managing suppliers’ DEI performance.

To spearhead these efforts, in 2021 we established a progressive supplier diversity strategy that aligns with our core values and works with our suppliers to ensure their continued investment in DEI within their businesses. We are tapping into nontraditional networks to expand MassMutual’s base of diverse suppliers and holding ourselves and others accountable for engaging diverse businesses and driving positive change.

A vibrant, diverse entrepreneurial environment is the lifeblood of today’s economy, and MassMutual is taking a dual-pronged approach to driving growth and capital for business expansion into financially underserved Black businesses. MassMutual’s Catalyst Fund is investing $50 million to spur job creation and business growth among diverse entrepreneurs in Massachusetts, $25 million of which will go to Black-owned, -founded, or -managed businesses, and $25 million toward investments in Massachusetts-based technology and sustainability-focused companies located outside Boston.

We also announced a new program in partnership with Dartmouth College and Stanford University aimed to help diverse businesses thrive and grow. The program will impact 175 businesses over the next five years through comprehensive education, business planning, and mentorship. Bringing together national leaders in diversity, academia, and financial services, the partnership is taking a holistic approach to address the most pressing issues facing underrepresented diverse businesses today.

Black Wall Street Campaign

2021 marked the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, in which rioters killed hundreds of people and decimated “Black Wall Street,” one of the wealthiest Black communities in the U.S. at the time. In remembrance of this event, MassMutual partnered with The New York Times to create a digital storefront for 100 Black-owned businesses to celebrate and support Black culture and entrepreneurship. Through this purpose-driven campaign, MassMutual and The New York Times transformed ads into acts of economic empowerment for Black-owned businesses. And it worked. This change drove 52,000 site visits to Black-owned businesses’ websites and 18 percent of businesses’ respondents reported tangible results.

Caring for Employees

MassMutual has a collaborative, inclusive workforce, committed to doing what’s right and supporting one another’s success. As part of our commitment to continuously evolve our culture and invest in our employees, we are always exploring programs we know are meaningful to their personal and professional lives.

For example, we understand that carrying student debt can impact employees’ overall financial, social, and emotional well-being, while also having a far-reaching effect on the economy. That’s why we’re introducing a new program that enables employees to convert up to five days of unused vacation time into either a payment toward student loan debt or a contribution to a 529 college savings account. This new offering is just the latest in a broad range of competitive and comprehensive benefits and programs that include generous and progressive caregiver, bereavement, maternity, and parental leaves; significant coverage for fertility and gender affirmation services in our health plan; adoption and surrogacy reimbursement; and other leading programs aimed at helping employees protect their well-being.

A key piece of what makes MassMutual a great place to work is the energy and enduring value of being together.Officially at two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope to welcome employees back to the office, depending on their comfort levels and job roles. Our flexible workplace will continue to evolve as the pandemic shifts and we learn what works best for our company and our teams, while keeping the health and well-being of our employees the utmost priority.

MassMutual deepened our commitment to employees’ well-being amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We maintained our virtual approach for key well-being supports such as the Employee Assistance Program, health and nutritional coaching, and fitness and yoga classes. Throughout the year, employees and their families could access the support they needed from a mental health clinician to a pep talk from their registered dietitian in the privacy and comfort of their homes.

Understanding that overall wellness is attached to financial well-being, we expanded the Live Health/Live Well program to include financial wellness assessments. Employees and their spouses/domestic partners were encouraged to examine their financial health together and, upon completion, each earned $100 toward their health savings accounts. MassMutual employees have benefited from free eMindful memberships since 2016. In 2021, we opened up the offering to their spouses/domestic partners.

An employer brand helps us tell a consistent story about what it means to work at MassMutual, helping us attract and retain the talent we need for the future. To develop this brand, we talked to the experts — our employees. Through surveys, interviews, and workshops, we engaged more than 2,000 people and heard what they like about working at MassMutual and where we can improve. The result is an employer brand that honestly represents who we are and who we aspire to be, which we can use to guide our conversations inside and outside the company.

$2,709,000 earned through our “Live Healthy, Live Well” wellness incentive program

2,011 Business Resource Group members participated

75,000 minutes of mindfulness practiced

6,000 online mindfulness classes taken

Making a Positive Impact: The MassMutual Foundation

The MassMutual Foundation is dedicated to activating connections and untapped opportunities within communities so that all families can build their financial capability and thrive. Through the Live Mutual Project, the Foundation’s main strategic initiative, we are helping create vibrant, healthy neighborhoods and financially healthy futures for all Americans by fostering community connections and developing financial capabilities in Massachusetts and beyond.

We deliver on this commitment through targeted investments in our Live Mutual Project Communities, strategic alliances, and collaboration among local, regional, and national partners who share our vision and goals. Additionally, we offer proprietary national programs that reflect the vibrant spirit of the Live Mutual Project and contribute to its success.

The Four Critical Building Blocks of Social Capital

1 Having people across social and economic boundaries
you can turn to when you need help
2 Being able to leverage your relationships with others
to meet your personal and professional goals
3 Being able to navigate systems and institutions
to meet your needs
4 Having opportunities to engage in your
community and build social connections

Addressing All Americans’ Need for Social Capital

Research conducted by the Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center (AP-NORC), with support from the MassMutual Foundation and in partnership with the Impact Genome Project^®, found that marginalized populations face more than financial barriers to high-paying jobs, healthcare, and financial stability. A high percentage of low-income Americans and marginalized groups also have limited or no personal networks to help them benefit from the nation’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

Social capital, an individual’s connectedness to other people, groups, and institutions, is known to have a direct relationship to economic mobility. This concept is foundational to the financial well-being of communities and their residents. It is also at the heart of the missions of both the MassMutual Foundation and the Live Mutual Project. In many of America’s most economically challenged neighborhoods, pathways to social capital exist, but too often only reach a fraction of those they seek to serve. Differences in the size of trusted networks are further affected by income, race, ethnicity, and education. White, college-educated, and wealthier adults are more likely to have more people they can rely on for personal and professional support.

In 2021, the MassMutual Foundation and the Impact Genome Project^® partnered to create a first-of-its-kind Social Capital Genome, a research platform using precision data to better understand what it takes to build social capital, and then design interventions that drive economic mobility and financial stability for people who lack it. With these insights in hand, a coalition of leading corporate philanthropies and other funders can make targeted investments in solutions that close that gap.

Targeting Investment to Power Change: King Boston

When investing in our communities, MassMutual and the MassMutual Foundation look for opportunities to engage residents with relationship-building opportunities that combine the power of community, its institutions, and the interconnections between them. As part of the grand opening of our new office at 10 Fan Pier, the MassMutual Foundation announced a $1 million grant toward the creation of King Boston’s new Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The CEJ will be the epicenter for research to support action-oriented solutions to end economic and social disparities and sustain a vital, prosperous region where justice and opportunity are accessible to all.

The CEJ will be a community base-builder and will partner with community organizations, higher educational institutions, and corporations to host speaker series and race and equity dialogues. We are honored to partner with King Boston to advance measurable economic justice for residents and introduce worldwide visitors to this aspect of Boston’s history.

Expanding FutureSmart^SM Financial Education

One of MassMutual’s core beliefs is that financial education is fundamental to achieving economic empowerment. Since 2015, the MassMutual Foundation has offered FutureSmart, a national digital education program that empowers middle and high school students to effectively manage their finances, make sound decisions, and become financially responsible. Through storytelling and simulation, FutureSmart combines intangible skills with real-world context.

In 2020, a two-year efficacy study conducted by the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts concluded that 90 percent of students taking FutureSmart experienced a significant increase in knowledge, regardless of their socioeconomic background. With strategic partner EVERFI — a leading provider of technology-based education platforms — we have reached three million students to date, with plans to reach another three million, for a total of nearly six million students by 2025.¹

To build on the success of our FutureSmart program for students, we expanded the program in 2021 to include free digital financial literacy education for educators and families. Studies have shown that just 43 percent of parents describe themselves as “well prepared” for financial conversations and many Americans don’t learn about saving money until early adulthood.² Users can access supplemental resources in both English and Spanish through two new portals on the recently redesigned FutureSmart website. This includes a robust library of 30+ “micro-courses” that take an average of five minutes to complete. We hope to encourage all participants to manage their finances, make sound decisions, and chart their own course to personal financial well-being.

Committing to Sustainability

Operating Responsibly

Transitioning to Net Zero in Our Portfolio and Operations

Driving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Becoming a More Inclusive Company

Advancing a Diverse Supplier Program

Championing Diverse Businesses