Daily CSR

MetLife is working to build stronger, more resilient long-term business performance by lowering its environmental footprint, improving operational efficiency, addressing climate-related risks and supporting sustainable growth. As part of this commitment, the company has established an ambition to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its worldwide operations and MetLife’s general account (GA) investment portfolio by 2050 or earlier.

In line with its New Frontier strategy, MetLife is concentrating on reducing emissions in areas where it has direct influence or control. These actions are intended to reduce exposure to environmental risks, strengthen business resilience under changing conditions and improve operational performance. Alongside emissions reduction, the company is working to use natural resources more responsibly, lower water consumption and divert waste from landfills.

Energy and Emissions

MetLife follows a structured approach to managing energy use and GHG emissions. Its initiatives are designed to improve efficiency, enhance operational performance, manage potential risks and create a productive workplace. These efforts can also reduce operating expenses while encouraging collaboration and supporting responsible, sustainable growth.

Since 2019, MetLife has reduced its location-based GHG emissions by 52 percent. The company has also maintained carbon neutrality across its offices, vehicle fleet and business travel since 2016.

Energy efficiency and sustainable building practices are incorporated across MetLife’s approximately 8.9 million square feet of office space through a range of measures, including:

Optimizing office space: Consolidating facilities where appropriate and introducing efficiency improvements such as LED lighting, upgraded building management systems and better management of electricity-consuming equipment.
Improving data center efficiency: Managing and optimizing data center operations to lower electricity demand. Measures include consolidating mainframes and Intermediate Distribution Frame closets and moving from conventional wireless access points toward Power over Ethernet solutions.
Transitioning fleet vehicles: Replacing conventional fleet vehicles with electric or hybrid models whenever practical.
Reducing business travel emissions: Encouraging employees to limit travel where possible by combining business trips, choosing rail over air travel when practical and selecting premium economy rather than business class for long-haul flights.
Producing renewable energy: Generating clean energy directly at selected office locations in Madrid, Spain, and Nicosia, Cyprus.
Supporting renewable electricity: Purchasing renewable energy through energy attribute certificates. These certificates represent one megawatt-hour of renewable electricity generated and supplied to the grid and are used to match MetLife’s worldwide electricity consumption.
Supporting verified carbon projects: Complementing direct emissions reductions and efficiency measures with a varied portfolio of independently certified carbon reduction and removal projects. These initiatives are selected not only for their climate benefits but also for their potential economic and social impact. For example, MetLife has partnered with Charm Industrial on a Colorado project that converts biomass into biochar, helping address wildfire risks while capturing carbon. The initiative also contributes to local employment and provides access to employee benefits designed to support longer-term financial stability.

Creating High-Performance, Sustainable Workplaces

MetLife incorporates sustainability, health and employee well-being into the design and operation of its workplaces. The company follows green leasing principles, uses environmentally responsible materials where feasible and encourages its offices worldwide to pursue recognized green or healthy building certifications. These include Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), ENERGY STAR®, Fitwel and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). Properties managed by MetLife Investment Management (MIM) are similarly encouraged to pursue relevant sustainability and healthy-building standards.

Within its facilities, MetLife seeks to reduce the use of water, plastics, paper and other natural resources while limiting the amount of waste sent to landfills. This includes efforts to reduce food waste and electronic waste. Workplace design also focuses on employee well-being through measures such as improved indoor air quality, greater access to natural daylight, healthier food choices and sit-stand workstations.

The company’s Global Event Operations team incorporates sustainability into conferences and other events by emphasizing paperless processes, purchasing from local sources and selecting environmentally preferable alternatives. MetLife also looks for products and services that reduce resource consumption, improve efficiency and deliver additional benefits such as lower costs.

Building a More Sustainable Supply Chain

MetLife’s Supplier Inclusion and Sustainability program works to ensure that its suppliers understand and support the company’s environmental priorities and expectations for responsible business conduct. Sustainability information is collected during supplier onboarding and throughout ongoing supplier management activities. This helps MetLife identify potential environmental and sustainability risks while encouraging continuous improvement across its supply chain.

Engaging directly with suppliers also gives MetLife greater insight into their business objectives, sustainability performance and areas for improvement. The company uses these relationships to encourage greater transparency, cooperation and accountability.

MetLife has set a goal that by 2030, two-thirds of its largest suppliers, measured by spending, will have established emissions-reduction targets. In 2025, suppliers representing 68 percent of spending had already established such goals.

The company continues to collaborate with suppliers to identify new ways of improving environmental performance. MetLife also encourages major suppliers to report their climate-related risks, environmental objectives and GHG emissions through the annual CDP Questionnaire. This information helps the company better understand climate exposure throughout its supply chain and evaluate its overall resilience.