Energy and Emissions

Carbon Neutrality

MetLife is proud to have been the first U.S.-based insurer to reach carbon neutrality across our global corporate office portfolio, vehicle fleet and employee business travel, and we have maintained the designation for six consecutive years.¹ For MetLife, carbon neutrality involves both immediate action on climate change and a long-term transition to a low-carbon economy. As a carbon neutral company, our first priority is to integrate sustainability best practices across our global operations and drive continuous improvement in waste, water, energy and carbon reductions. Our strategy is twofold:

1. Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as much as possible across our global operations, including through implementing energy-efficiency initiatives in our corporate real estate portfolio, minimizing employee business travel and embracing hybrid and electric fleet vehicles; and

2. Offset our remaining emissions through support of renewable energy instruments and high quality, third-party-certified carbon reduction projects in markets where we operate. These projects align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and stimulate local economies by promoting job creation, human health and women empowerment. 

We continue to explore additional ways to mitigate and adapt to climate change while making a positive impact on our communities around the world.

Achieving Our 2020 Goals

By the end of 2019, we achieved all four of our global environmental targets. We achieved carbon neutrality for the fourth year in a row. We collaborated with 103 suppliers, who disclosed their GHG emissions and emissions reduction activities publicly. And we nearly tripled our public goals to reduce energy and emissions globally by 10% by 2020, reducing energy by 33% and emissions by 27% globally. 

2030 Climate Goals

We are also proud of the climate goals we have set for 2030, which were established after an intensive, cross-functional process, including industry benchmarking, reviewing the latest climate science and gathering input from over 30 internal stakeholders globally. For instance, our emissions goal is intentionally in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree Celsius recommendations, given the criticality of this decade for climate action. Together, the 11 goals aim to reduce the environmental impact of our global operations and supply chain, while leveraging our investments, products and services to help protect our communities and drive innovative solutions. Visit our 2030 Climate Goals website to learn more.

Net Zero by 2050

For years, MetLife has applied a diverse range of strategies to reduce emissions generated by its environmental footprint. In 2022, MetLife made the commitment to achieve net zero GHG emissions for its global operations and general account investment portfolio by 2050 or sooner.² This involves building on existing 2030 climate goals and substantially reducing emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. While the exact technologies, policies and strategies to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions are not known at this time and many uncertainties remain, MetLife will continue to strive to be a force for good in the world.

Reducing Energy Consumption

MetLife is an office-based organization with a large real estate portfolio. Among our priorities in managing our environmental impact is developing programs that address climate change, lower energy consumption and improve the environmental performance of facilities that are owned or operated by MetLife. MetLife has reduced GHG emissions by 21% between 2020 and 2021 thanks to efficiencies achieved while shifting the majority of our workforce to work-from-home at the height of the pandemic. 

MetLife’s travel policies and work arrangements maximize our connection to each other and to customers while reducing the company’s environmental impact. For example, MetLife employees can access innovative tools for collaboration at MetLife’s global offices from more than 400 video conferencing rooms. Collaboration technologies reduce the need for business travel and can significantly lower overall travel-related emissions.

MIM Real Estate Equity

The MetLife Investment Management (MIM) Real Estate Equity team provides regular sustainability training to our building engineers, property managers and asset managers to improve building efficiency. The training covers topics such as contamination, GHG emissions, energy efficiency, natural hazards, regulatory standards, supply chain environmental impacts, waste, water and Energy Star Portfolio Management. More than 100 property managers participate in the training. 

Each year, MIM hosts our ESG Challenge, which encourages properties to celebrate their sustainability successes. The winners become case studies that we share with other properties in the portfolio. 

Emissions

In 2021, GHG emissions decreased by 21%, due to employee working remotely and not traveling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

In addition to reductions achieved by prioritizing employee health and keeping them at home, we have also continued to implement energy-efficiency upgrades and capital projects to reduce consumption while maximizing occupant comfort across our global office portfolio.  

Facility and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) operations reduced due to low building occupancy, resulting in energy savings across the portfolio. For example, in Oriskany, NY, the air-conditioning unit replacement resulted in a 78,000 kWh reduction. 

Green Facilities

Globally, MetLife’s offices comprise approximately 13.5 million square feet. We are committed to developing programs that improve the financial and environmental performance of building space that we own or operate. This includes a commitment to reducing our consumption of energy, water, plastics, paper and other natural resources, as well as to providing our employees with healthy spaces where they can thrive. We prioritize sustainable building materials and design, high levels of indoor air quality, natural light, and sustainable amenities such as bike storage, healthy dining options and sit-stand desks. MetLife uses green technology to reduce our facilities’ carbon footprint, drive operational excellence and bring employees together in state-of-the-art collaborative workspaces. We implement sustainability best practices in our buildings through sustainable design, capital projects and facility upgrades. These projects focus on driving energy savings, emissions reductions, water efficiency, waste diversion and operational cost savings. Examples include lighting retrofits, chiller and boiler replacements, LED lighting systems, demand metering and occupancy-sensor installations.

MetLife has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications for over 34 million square feet of real estate—4.7 million square feet attributed to the corporate office network, including a new certification in Providencia, Chile, and 29.4 million square feet of MIM- managed real estate properties. This is a total of 82 buildings. In addition to LEED, MetLife prioritizes Energy Star, Fitwel, ISO 14001 and other sustainable building certification programs. MetLife has 12 Energy Star-certified buildings in the U.S. that cover 3.4 million square feet.  

MetLife has obtained three Fitwel certifications in the U.S. Fitwel is a joint initiative of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the General Services Administration, created to enhance all buildings and communities to strengthen health and well-being. The certifications cover 1.3 million square feet of real estate, including our global headquarters in New York City. MIM has also obtained Fitwel certifications for 17 properties held in its real estate equity investment portfolio. 

Striving for these certifications means that all newly designed spaces emphasize natural lighting, have efficient LED lighting technology and occupancy sensors, use ENERGY STAR-certified information technology equipment, and have high-efficiency and low-flow plumbing fixtures to reduce water consumption. MetLife’s LEED-certified spaces also incentivize employees to switch to more sustainable modes of transportation by providing amenities such as showers and storage for bicycle commuters and access to electric-vehicle charging stations, of which there are over 80 in total at our major U.S. administrative sites.

Investing in Renewable Energy

MetLife is committed to using renewable sources of electricity as an important part of our strategy to cut emissions. We purchase significant amounts of grid-sourced, low-carbon energy as well as Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to support the development of new renewable generation capacity. We also invest in green investments such as renewable energy projects.

Learn more about our green investing efforts in our 2021 Sustainability Report >