NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) today announced that it has achieved its 2015 goal of carbon neutrality, becoming the first U.S.-based insurer to do so.MetLife achieved carbon neutrality by integrating sustainability and energy efficiency best practices across the company’s global operations, and then offsetting the remainder of emissions through investments in carbon mitigation projects around the world.

“MetLife is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and driving sound environmental stewardship across our business globally,” said Marty Lippert, executive vice president and head of MetLife Global Technology and Operations. “Sustainable business strategies not only reduce our environmental impact but also underscore who we are as a company.”

Examples of MetLife’s efforts to embed sustainability throughout its operations include:

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification for MetLife’s Washington D.C. office and Global Technology Campus in Cary, N.C. MetLife now has 19 LEED certified offices globally (the equivalent of almost four million square feet of real estate), and six of these offices have earned the Platinum designation.
• Energy reductions of nearly 30 percent across U.S. owned and operated offices.
• Engagement with its top suppliers to reduce environmental impact through the organization’s supply chain.
• Green investments of $9.7 billion which include ownership stakes in 37 wind and solar farms, equity stakes in 48 LEED-certified properties and $3 billion in renewable energy projects.

These efforts are central elements of the company’s global environmental goals established in 2015, which include:

1. Become carbon neutral in 2016 and going forward.

2. By 2020, reduce all energy consumption by 10 percent from a 2012 baseline.

3. By 2020, reduce location-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10 percent from a 2012 baseline.

4. By 2020, require 100 of MetLife’s top suppliers to publicly disclose their GHG emissions and emission-reduction activities.

MetLife’s commitment to the environment extends outside its own footprint. To help offset the remainder of its carbon emissions, the company is supporting six, third-party certified carbon mitigation projects that support sustainable development. Examples include:

• Initiatives to install solar powered cookstoves in China helping families switch from coal-fired cooking to 100% renewable energy.
• A Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) project that protects tropical rainforest in Colombia. This effort helps conserve the rainforest and reduces clear-cutting and other unsustainable agricultural practices.
• In the U.S., MetLife supports a project to capture emissions from New York State’s largest non-hazardous waste facility and transform the gasses into clean energy.

MetLife’s progress against its environmental goals is a reflection of the company’s long-standing commitment to reducing its environmental impact. Recent recognition of MetLife’s accomplishments on this front include:

• Recognized by CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) for leadership in reporting and management of climate change issues. CDP is a not-for-profit that assesses the work of more than 5,000 companies on environmental performance.
• Named to the 2016 North American Dow Jones Sustainability Index, a corporate sustainability index to track the leading sustainability-driven companies.
• Received the 2016 Climate Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the company’s bold new greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.

For more information on MetLife’s commitment to the environment and other corporate responsibility activities, visit www.metlifeglobalimpact.com.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain or incorporate by reference information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give expectations or forecasts of future events. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “goals,” and other words and terms of similar meaning, or are tied to future periods, in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, prospective services or products, future performance or results of current and anticipated services or products, sales efforts, expenses, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings, trends in operations and financial results.

Any or all forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining the actual future results of MetLife, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. These statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. They involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors that might cause such differences include the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in MetLife, Inc.'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed by MetLife, Inc. with the SEC after the date of the Annual Report under the captions “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors,” and other filings MetLife, Inc. makes with the SEC. MetLife, Inc. does not undertake any obligation to publicly correct or update any forward-looking statement if MetLife, Inc. later becomes aware that such statement is not likely to be achieved. Please consult any further disclosures MetLife, Inc. makes on related subjects in reports to the SEC.

Contacts

MetLife, Inc.
Jon Richter, 212-578-5370
jrichter@metlife.com