The Aflac Way: Making a Difference While Balancing Purpose and Profit
COLUMBUS, Ga., March 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated announced today that the company has released its 2022 Business and Sustainability Report, titled "The Aflac Way: Making a Difference While Balancing Purpose and Profit." The 2022 Business and Sustainability report is available at investors.aflac.com under "Sustainability."
The 2022 Business and Sustainability Report provides key insights into how Aflac Incorporated focuses on the Company's long tradition of doing what is right for its employees and communities and an overview of operations and financial results for the 2022 fiscal year. This year's report also highlights achievements of the company advancing integration of responsible investing into its investment and ownership decisions; progressing on its path to net zero emissions; committing $741 million in 2022 to sustainable and DEI investments; completely allocating the net proceeds from the $400 million sustainability bond issued by Aflac Incorporated on March 8, 2021; continuing to foster an inclusive culture in Japan and the U.S.; exceeding $165 million in contributions in support of the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta; supporting 149,000 pediatric patients and their families who stay at the Aflac Parents House in Japan during treatments; and giving a My Special Aflac Duck® to more than 21,000 children since 2018 to provide comfort through their treatment for cancer and most recently, sickle cell disease. It also highlights Aflac Incorporated's focus on strong governance and commitment to being a good steward of the environment.
About the 2022 Business and Sustainability Report, Aflac Incorporated Chairman and CEO Dan Amos commented: "Let's be clear: profits and shareholder returns determine whether a company is successful, but we have always been a company that has viewed giving back to our community as the right thing to do. This has become a part of our culture and reflected in how we operate, what we refer to as "The Aflac Way," for as long as I can remember. I'm proud of what we have accomplished by delivering solid results while focused on our social purpose. Today, customers, investors and other stakeholders want to know about a company's purpose before making decisions. We've always given back, but now it is also important to proactively share information, as we do in this report about how we balance purpose and profit."
Aflac Incorporated President and Chief Operating Officer Frederick J. Crawford added: "We believe that sustainability and financial performance must be pursued in a way that naturally coexists and serves to enhance our overall franchise value. Simply put, we focus on diversity, environment and social commitments to attract the best talent and connect with the communities we serve in a way that supports our brand and the expectations of our distribution partners and policyholders. In turn, we perform better, which attracts capital to our company, such that we can continue to grow. In the spirit of the transparency we prioritize, we've posted material that our investors have expressed an interest in seeing,"
The report also integrates various reporting frameworks, including the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which are easily located in the report's ESG Reporting Index.
Investors may learn more about how Aflac Incorporated balances purpose and profit at investors.aflac.com under "Sustainability" including the company's most recent TCFD Report, the Aflac U.S. 2021 EEO-1 Disclosure and the company's Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) submission.
ABOUT AFLAC INCORPORATED
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL), a Fortune 500 company, has helped provide financial protection and peace of mind for more than 67 years to millions of policyholders and customers through its subsidiaries in the U.S. and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac is the No. 1 provider of supplemental health insurance products.1 In Japan, Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of cancer and medical insurance policies in force. In 2021, the company became a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). In 2022, the company was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index for the ninth year, the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for the 17th consecutive year, Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies for the 22nd time and Bloomberg's Gender-Equality Index for the fourth consecutive year. To find out how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol. Investors may learn more about Aflac Incorporated and its commitment to ESG and social responsibility at investors.aflac.com under "Sustainability."
1 LIMRA 2021 U.S. Supplemental Health Insurance Total Market Report
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" to encourage companies to provide prospective information, so long as those informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. The company desires to take advantage of these provisions. This document contains cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected herein, and in any other statements made by company officials in communications with the financial community and contained in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal," "objective," "may," "should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will," "assumes," "potential," "target," "outlook" or similar words as well as specific projections of future results, generally qualify as forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.
The company cautions readers that the following factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements:
- difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy, including those caused by COVID-19
- defaults and credit downgrades of investments
- global fluctuations in interest rates and exposure to significant interest rate risk
- concentration of business in Japan
- limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments
- foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate
- differing interpretations applied to investment valuations
- significant valuation judgments in determination of expected credit losses recorded on the Company's investments
- decreases in the Company's financial strength or debt ratings
- decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions
- concentration of the Company's investments in any particular single-issuer or sector
- major public health issues, including COVID-19 and any resulting or coincidental economic effects, on the Company's business and financial results
- the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates, brokers, employees, and distribution partners
- deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions
- ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systemsand on successful execution of revenue growth and expense management initiatives
- interruption in telecommunication, information technology and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems
- subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to the Parent Company
- inherent limitations to risk management policies and procedures
- operational risks of third party vendors
- tax rates applicable to the Company may change
- failure to comply with restrictions on policyholder privacy and information security
- extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities
- competitive environment and ability to anticipate and respond to market trends
- catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, as a result of climate change, epidemics, pandemics (such as COVID-19), tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, war or other military action, terrorism or other acts of violence, and damage incidental to such events
- ability to protect the Aflac brand and the Company's reputation
- ability to effectively manage key executive succession changes in accounting standards
- level and outcome of litigation
- allegations or determinations of worker misclassification in the United States
Analyst and investor contact - David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667 or dyoung@aflac.com
Media contact - Ines Gutzmer, 762.207.7601 or igutzmer@aflac.com
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SOURCE Aflac Incorporated
